Russia's Vladimir Putin challenges US on Syria claims

Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged the US to present to the UN evidence that Syria attacked rebels with chemical weapons near Damascus.

Mr Putin said it would be "utter nonsense" for Syria's government to provoke opponents with such attacks.

US President Barack Obama says he is considering military action against Syria after intelligence reports that 1,429 people were killed on 21 August.

UN weapons inspectors have left Syria after gathering evidence for four days.

They crossed into neighbouring Lebanon. They are due to go to the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons in the Netherlands.

The US says hundreds of children were among those killed in the suspected chemical weapons attacks, which the US says was carried out by the Syrian government.

Syria said the US claim was "full of lies", blaming rebels for the attacks.

US President Barack Obama Obama said on Friday the US was planning a "limited, narrow" military response that would not involve "boots on the ground".

'Trump card'

The inspectors' departure from Syria removes both a practical and a political obstacle to the launch of US-led military action, correspondents say.

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Damascus says people are worried and are making preparations.

They do not know what Mr Obama means by a limited attack and what consequences it will have for them, he adds.

Speaking to journalists in the Russian far-eastern city of Vladivostok, Mr Putin urged Mr Obama - as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate - to think about future victims in Syria before using force.

He said it was ridiculous to suggest the Syrian government was to blame for the attack.

"Syrian government troops are on the offensive and have surrounded the opposition in several regions," he said.

"In these conditions, to give a trump card to those who are calling for a military intervention is utter nonsense."

"So I'm convinced that is nothing more than a provocation by those who want to drag other countries into the Syrian conflict."

He said that the US failure to present evidence to the international community was "simply disrespectful".

"If there is evidence it should be shown. If it is not shown, then there isn't any," he said.

The main findings of the released unclassified summary of the US evidence state that:

• the attack killed 1,429 people, including 426 children
• Syrian military chemical weapons personnel were operating in the area in the three days before the attack
• Satellite evidence shows rockets launched from government-held areas 90 minutes before first report of chemical attack
• 100 videos attributed to the attack show symptoms consistent with exposure to nerve agent
• Communications were intercepted involving a senior Damascus official who "confirmed chemical weapons were used" and was concerned about UN inspectors obtaining evidence
• 'Completely unexpected'
• Russia - a key ally of Syria - has previously warned that "any unilateral military action bypassing the UN Security Council" would be a "direct violation of international law".

Moscow, along with China, has vetoed two previous draft resolutions on Syria.

Mr Putin also expressed surprise at a vote in the British parliament on Thursday ruling out participation in military action.

"I will be honest: this was completely unexpected for me," he said.

"This shows that in Great Britain, even if it is the USA's main geopolitical ally in the world... there are people who are guided by national interests and common sense, and value their sovereignty."

Meanwhile in France - seen as the main US ally since the UK vote - an opinion poll suggested that 64% opposed the use of force.

Neither France nor the US needs parliamentary approval for military action.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said his country will defend itself against any Western "aggression".

Forces which could be used against Syria:

• Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles. The missiles can also be fired from submarines, but the US Navy does not reveal their locations

• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan, could be used to carry out strikes

• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region

• French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean

• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAE

Profiles: Delhi gang rape accused

Six people, one of them a juvenile, were put on trial for last December's notorious gang rape and murder of a female student on a bus in the Indian capital, Delhi.

All of them were charged in court with rape, murder, kidnapping and destruction of evidence - all six denied the charges.

Here are brief profiles of the suspects.

Ram Singh

The main suspect, Ram Singh, was found dead in Tihar jail in March. Police said he hanged himself, but defence lawyers and his family alleged he was murdered.

A 33-year-old widower, he lived in a small two-room shanty in the Ravi Dass slum colony.

He was the alleged driver of the bus on which the 23-year-old woman was raped and her male friend assaulted.

He is remembered by his neighbours for being a troublemaker who frequently got involved in drunken brawls.

Like many migrants, his family came to Delhi from their village in Rajasthan more than 20 years ago in search of a better life.

The third of five brothers, Ram Singh was enrolled into the neighbourhood government school but dropped out while still at primary.

He was the first person to be arrested for the 16 December gang rape that shocked India.

A cousin who lives in the same district said he "was fond of music and would often play very loud music at home".

A neighbour said: "Ram Singh would often be found drunk and involved in brawls, though we never thought he could commit a crime as heinous as rape."

His father, Mangelal Singh, said Ram Singh would not have been able to orchestrate a suicide because he only had the effective use of one arm - Ram Singh had damaged his right arm in a driving accident in 2009.

But some of his relatives say he was a strong man who, even after the accident, did not quit driving because a rod had been inserted into the damaged arm.

Mukesh Singh

The younger brother of Ram Singh, Mukesh is in his early 20s.

He lived with his brother in his two-room shanty in the Ravi Dass slum and worked as an occasional driver and cleaner on the bus.

He is charged with raping as well as hitting the woman and her boyfriend with an iron rod - charges that he denies.

It is alleged that he - and not Ram Singh - was driving the bus when they picked up the couple.

In court, Mukesh Singh said that he was driving the bus and the other five raped the woman and assaulted the couple, reports say.

His lawyer has claimed that his client has been abused and tortured inside the jail, charges denied by prison authorities.

Vinay Sharma

A 20-year-old gym assistant and fitness trainer, Vinay Sharma also lived in the Ravi Dass slum, not far from the house of Ram Singh.

Among the accused, he is the only one who has had a school education and speaks English.

Earlier this summer, he sought a month's bail to sit his first-year university examination - a request turned down by the judge who ordered the university officials and jail authorities to make arrangements for him to sit his exams inside prison.

In court, Vinay Sharma has claimed that he was not on the bus when the crime took place and that he had gone to a music function along with co-accused Pawan Gupta.

Akshay Thakur

A 28-year-old helper on the bus, Akshay Thakur is from the eastern Indian state of Bihar.

He was arrested in Bihar on 21 December - five days after the crime.

Along with rape, murder and kidnapping, he is accused of trying to destroy evidence by helping to wash the bus after the incident.

A school dropout, he moved to Delhi last year.

According to reports, he is married and has a young son. The family lives in his village in Bihar.

In court, he has denied being on the bus and said that he left Delhi on 15 December - a day before the crime - and reached his village in Bihar the next day.

Pawan Gupta

A 19-year-old fruit-seller, Pawan Gupta, has claimed in court that he was not on the bus at the time of the crime and had gone to attend a music function with Vinay Sharma.

His father, Heera Lal, who has appeared as a witness in the trial court, said his son was "innocent" and had been "falsely implicated".

He said his son had closed his shop in the afternoon on the day of the incident and left for home.

After consuming alcohol and eating chicken at home, he had gone to a nearby park to attend a music function.

Mr Lal said he went to the park along with his brother-in-law and took him home.

In the early days after his arrest, reports said he had said in court that he had "done a horrible thing... I have done a bad thing and I should be hanged", but his lawyer later denied he had made the statement.

Convicted juvenile

The sixth suspect's name cannot be given for legal reasons. He was 17 at the time of the crime, so was tried as a minor. He has since turned 18.

On 31 August he was found guilty on charges of rape and murder and sentenced to three years in a reform facility, the maximum sentence available to a juvenile.

The eldest of six children, he left his village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh at the age of 11, and lived his formative years alone, doing menial jobs in Delhi.

His mother told the BBC that she last spoke to him just before he boarded the bus to the city.

She had thought him dead until police came knocking on her door in December and told her he was one of the accused in the gang rape case.

His family is possibly the poorest in the village. The father is mentally disabled and cannot take care of the children.

His mother says she sent him to work in Delhi in the hope that he would earn well and bring the family out of poverty.

He sent the family money for a few years and then disappeared, they say.

His mother insists he was a gentle boy.

"He was a very sensitive child and would be scared to confront anybody in the village. I'm sure he fell into bad company in Delhi and was led into committing this shameful act," she said.

Zuma's office denies reports Nelson Mandela home from hospital

Johannesburg (CNN) -- The South African president's office said Saturday that Nelson Mandela remains hospitalized, contradicting earlier reports that he had returned home.

Two sources close to Mandela told CNN on Saturday that he had returned to his Johannesburg home after a long hospital stay.

After reports by various media outlets, the president 's office issued a statement.

"The presidency has noted incorrect media reports that former President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital," the statement said. "Madiba is still in hospital in Pretoria, and remains in a critical but stable condition. At times his condition becomes unstable, but he responds to medical interventions."

Madiba is the revered leader's clan name.

Mandela posters mark his 95th birthday

Before releasing the statement, the president's office declined to comment when CNN called to confirm reports from the sources.

Mandela, 95, was hospitalized June 8 because of a lung infection. He marked his July birthday at the Pretoria hospital where he has been surrounded by relatives.

Why Nelson Mandela has six names

The frail icon has not appeared in public for years, but he retains his popularity as the father of democracy and emblem of the nation's fight against apartheid.

Mandela became an international figure while enduring 27 years in prison for fighting against apartheid, the country's system of racial segregation.

He became the nation's first black president in 1994, four years after he was freed from prison.

Mandela's impact extends far beyond South African borders. After he left office, he mediated conflicts in Africa and the Middle East.

His history of lung problems dates to his imprisonment on Robben Island, and he has battled respiratory infections since then.

Earlier this week, Zuma's office said he remains in a critical but stable condition, and Saturday's statement said that had not changed.

During his hospitalization, crowds gathered outside his Pretoria hospital to sing, and leave him flowers, stuffed animals and notes.

Lamar Odom to appear in court next month on DUI arrest

Veteran NBA player Lamar Odom is expected to appear in court Sept. 27 after being arrested in the San Fernando Valley on suspicion of driving under the influence.

His driver's license will be suspended for a year because he refused to submit to chemical testing at a police station, authorities said.

California Highway Patrol Officer Leland Tang said Odom was unable to complete a field sobriety test Friday, and once at the station he refused chemical tests to determine his level of alleged intoxication.

Drivers suspected of DUI may refuse to take tests in the field, but once they are at a police station, they are required to take a chemical test. If they refuse, they lose their driving privileges for a year.

"He did the one thing you should never not do: refuse the chemical tests," Tang said.

A driver does “not have a right” to consult a lawyer beforehand, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

“If you refuse to submit to any of the tests, your driving privilege may be suspended because of your refusal,” according to the department's handbook.

Odom was released Friday morning after spending about 3½ hours in jail.

The 33-year-old basketball star was released after posting $15,000 bond; he is expected in Van Nuys Municipal Court on Sept. 27.

The 6-foot-10 forward, who most recently played with the Clippers and is now a free agent, was arrested early Friday after a California Highway Patrol officer observed him driving erratically on the 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley, Tang said.

CHP officials said Odom was in a white Mercedes sports utility vehicle eastbound on the 101 Freeway near Sepulveda Boulevard just before 4 a.m. when he was spotted driving below freeway speeds, at about 50 mph.

A CHP report notes that Odom was driving in a "serpentine manner." He showed signs of being under the influence of either drugs or alcohol and failed a field sobriety test, according to the CHP.

At the Van Nuys jail, Odom refused all chemical tests and was booked without incident, Tang said. An inventory of Odom's SUV revealed no drugs, alcohol or other contraband, Tang added.

Odom was booked into custody at 5:01 a.m. and released at 8:33 a.m.

His agent, Jeff Schwartz, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Less than a week before Odom's Friday's arrest, the NBA veteran was involved in a three-car collision on the same freeway.

The crash was not reported to authorities, but Los Angeles Times reporter Adolfo Flores said his car was rear-ended by another vehicle hit by Odom's white Mercedes on Saturday.

The incident occurred about 6 p.m. near the Gower Street exit on the southbound side of the 101 Freeway, Flores said.

Odom has made headlines in recent weeks for alleged drug use, including reports last weekend that he was missing after a fight with his wife, Khloe Kardashian Odom.

His agent told ESPN that the basketball player was “not missing,” and a source told the outlet that Odom was at a Los Angeles hotel as friends tried to help him with a drug problem.

Kardashian Odom tweeted about the reports, saying it was “really hard to sit here and listen to people talk … about my family.”

Alaskan Aleutian Island region hit by large quake, aftershocks; no tsunami danger

ANCHORAGE, Alaska –  Several aftershocks rattled a remote Aleutian Island region off Alaska in the hours after a major 7.0 temblor struck with a jet-like rumble that shook homes and sent residents scrambling for cover.

At least three dozen aftershocks, including one reaching magnitude 6.1 in strength, struck after the major quake Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"I heard it coming," said Kathleen Nevzoroff, who was sitting at her computer in the tiny Aleutians village of Adak when the 7.0 temblor struck at 8:25 a.m. local time, getting stronger and stronger. "I ran to my doors and opened them and my chimes were all ringing."

There were no reports of damage or injuries from the earthquake, which occurred in a seismically active region. It was strongly felt in Atka, an Aleut community of 64 people, and the larger Aleutian town of Adak, where 320 people live.

The earthquake and the aftershocks didn't trigger any tsunami warnings, but Michael Burgy with the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, said the center is monitoring for potential tsunamis caused by landslides, either on land or under water.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center said the primary earthquake was centered 67 miles southwest of Adak, about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage. Shaking lasted up to one minute.

The 6.1 aftershock struck in the same general area at 10:39 p.m. Friday. Police and town officials in Adak didn't immediately answer telephone calls for comment Friday night.

"We do expect aftershocks to occur in the next few days," USGS geophysicist Jessica Turner said. She said there had been a least 30 so far measuring at least magnitude 2.5.

She said the USGS hasn't had any reports of damage from the quakes, but added that the major one and some larger aftershocks have been felt.

The 7.0 quake occurred offshore in the subduction zone where plates of the Earth's crust grind and dive. By contrast, California's most famous fault line, the San Andreas, is a strike-slip fault. Quakes along strike-slip faults tend to move horizontally.

In Adak, city clerk Debra Sharrah was upstairs in her two-story townhome getting ready for work when she heard a noise.

"I thought it was my dog running up the stairs," she said. "It kept making noise and then it got louder. So then all of a sudden the rumbling started."

The four-plex of townhomes was shaking and swaying as Sharrah and her dog, Pico, dashed out the door. It seemed like the building moved for a long time, but the only thing disturbed in her home was a stepstool that fell over.

"Nothing fell off my walls, and the wine glasses didn't go out of the hutch or anything," said Sharrah, who moved to the island community from Montana's Glacier National Park area almost two years ago.

In Atka, Nevzoroff manages the village store and expected to find goods had flown off the shelves. But nothing was amiss.

"Everything seems to be okay," she said.

The communities are located in a sparsely populated region and both played roles in World War II.

Atka residents were displaced during the war, relocating to Southeast Alaska so the U.S. government could demolish the village to prevent the Japanese from seizing it as they had other Aleutian communities. After the war, the U.S. Navy rebuilt the community and residents returned. Today, the community is a cluster of solidly built utilitarian buildings scattered over rolling hills that turned emerald green in warmer months.

Adak, 110 miles to the west, had been home to U.S. military installations that allowed forces to wage a successful offense against the Japanese after they seized the Aleutian Islands of Kiska and Attu. After the war. Adak was transformed into a Naval air station that served as a submarine surveillance center during the Cold War. Later, the facilities were acquired by the Aleut Corp. — a regional native corporation — in a federal land-transfer agreement. It became a city in 2001 and today retains its military appearance.

Williams Gets Stephens Again as Del Potro Is Upset at U.S. Open

Serena Williams wasted little time dispatching Yaroslava Shvedova after a late start at the U.S. Open, setting up a rematch with fellow American Sloane Stephens, who upset Williams at the Australian Open in January.

The top-seeded Williams, 31, hit 22 winners to Shvedova’s three, wrapping up a 6-3, 6-1 win shortly after 1:00 a.m. New York time. The match began at 11:49 last night, as the players waited inside Arthur Ashe Stadium until the completion of Lleyton Hewitt’s upset against men’s No. 6 seed Juan Martin Del Potro, which took more than four hours.

Williams and Hewitt joined defending champion Andy Murray of the U.K. and top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia as former champions who advanced yesterday at the National Tennis Center in Queens, New York.

“I’m so excited you guys stayed out for the late night rendezvous,” Williams told the crowd after the match. “I don’t think I’ve ever played this late, so it’s a really good surprise.”

Third-round play starts today for the men and continues for the women at the tennis season’s final Grand Slam. Men’s No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal plays Ivan Dodig of Croatia, while 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer of Switzerland faces France’s Adrian Mannarino. Women’s No. 2 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who has dropped four games in two matches, will play No. 26 seed Alize Cornet of France.

Stephens needed just 63 minutes to defeat Jamie Hampton 6-1, 6-3 yesterday in a matchup of the two best-seeded Americans after Williams. It’s the first time the 20-year-old Stephens has advanced past the third round at the U.S. Open. Williams, by contrast, has won 16 Grand Slam titles and hasn’t been eliminated before the fourth round at the U.S. Open since her tournament debut in 1998.

Australian Open

Stephens upset Williams 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January, Williams’s only Grand Slam loss in the 12 months from July 2012 through June 2013. The two later got into a media spat, with Stephens accusing Williams of being disrespectful.

“It’s definitely been a learning experience from January ’til now,” Stephens told reporters yesterday. “I’ve had a great year. I’m really pleased with the way it’s gone.”

Through five days, the U.S. Open has featured few major upsets, with Argentina’s Del Potro and women’s No. 4 Sara Errani the only players seeded in the top 10 of either side to be eliminated so far. Ten such players had been eliminated at the same point last month at Wimbledon.

Djokovic, 26, beat Benjamin Becker of Germany in straight sets, while Hewitt rallied from down two sets to one to beat Del Potro in a matchup of former U.S. Open champions. Murray defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 7-5, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

‘Keep Improving’

“I played well when I needed to,” Murray, 26, said after his match. “I want to keep improving as the tournament goes on. You don’t want to play your best right at the beginning.”

On the women’s side, fifth-seeded Li Na of China, the 2011 French Open champion, beat No. 32 seed Laura Robson of Britain 6-2, 7-5. Agnieszka Radwanska, the No. 3 seed from Poland, advanced to the fourth round with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) win against 32nd-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.

Two of the three remaining American men play today, with No. 13 John Isner facing No. 22 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany and Jack Sock facing No. 18-seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia. American Tim Smyczek yesterday beat Alex Bogomolov Jr. 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. No American male has advanced to the semifinals at the U.S. Open since Andy Roddick lost in the 2006 finals.

“All of us Americans have a pretty good rapport, and we’re all pulling for each other,” Smyczek, 25, said yesterday. “It’s pretty cool the way we all get along.”

Williams echoed a similar sentiment about the U.S. women. She said that while her match against Stephens would be tough, there was a silver lining.

“There is definitely going to be one American in the quarterfinals,” she said. “I’m really excited about that.”

China Exclusive: Shanghai liquid ammonia leak kills 15

SHANGHAI, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen people were confirmed dead and 25 others injured, five critically, after a liquid ammonia leak at a refrigeration unit in Shanghai on Saturday, local authorities said.

The accident took place at around 10:50 a.m. in a factory at Shanghai Weng's Cold Storage Industrial Co., Ltd. in Baoshan District, the municipal government said in an official statement.

Rescue work has concluded and all the injured have been rushed to hospitals. Five are in critical condition, the statement said.

Following the leak, a pungent odor was detected in the air when a Xinhua reporter arrived at the location.

Blue and white warning tape was set up and ten firefighters in orange uniforms were seen entering the guarded factory.

A chief firefighter told Xinhua that there were no open flames after the leak, so the team carried out rescue work immediately and closed down valves that are suspected of having leaked the chemical.

"It smelled much worse than smoke from a fire. I sprawled on the ground and could not speak. Then my consciousness dwindled," said Gu Qijue, who was injured in the incident and is receiving treatment at Dachang Hospital in Baoshan District.

Gu told Xinhua that she was in a dormitory area on the factory's fourth floor when she smelled a strong odor. She was rescued by firefighters and saved after medical treatment.

Baoshan District's environmental authorities have sent environmental monitoring vehicles to test the impact of the leak.

Initial test results show that odors reported early in the morning by nearby residents were unrelated to the leak, and no pollution was detected as of 5 p.m., according to an official statement.

The liquid ammonia was used in food refrigeration units at Shanghai Weng's Cold Storage Industrial Co., Ltd., which is engaged in the import,export, storage, processing and sale of seafood.

Liquid ammonia is a colorless liquid frequently used in industrial sterilization and refrigeration processes. The corrosive and volatile chemical may cause suffocation after heavy inhalation.

As of 5 p.m., local authorities were still investigating the cause of the accident.

Afghan suicide attack kills six, hurts 20 in south

KABUL — A suicide bomber killed up to six Afghans and wounded 20 others in an attack outside a bank in the southern city of Kandahar as people were waiting to collect their salaries, officials said.

"The attack took place in the city of Kandahar near the New Kabul Bank branch," Javed Faisal, spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, told AFP.

He said both police and civilians waiting to collect their wages were among the victims.

"Tragically, the initial death toll shows we have six dead and 20 wounded in this crowded part of the city, and most of the victims were civilians, and they came to the bank for their daily business activities," a statement from Kandahar media office said.

Kandahar police spokesman Ahmad Zia Durrani gave the toll as five people killed and 22 wounded, saying seven of those injured were police officers and the rest were civilians.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Afghan officials often blame Taliban insurgents, who are waging a nearly 12-year war against the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai, for such attacks.

Southern Afghanistan is considered a hotbed of the Taliban insurgency, and the militants have a strong presence in Kandahar province.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb attack hit a civilian vehicle in Sangin district of Helmand province on Friday evening, killing 12 civilians including a woman, Helmand government spokesman Omar Zwak told AFP.

Roadside bombs are one of the Taliban insurgents' most deadly weapons. The militants plant bombs to target Afghan security forces and the US-led international troops, but often they miss their targets -- and Afghan civilians pay the price.

Signs of a Shift Among Egyptian Protesters to Antigovernment, From Pro-Morsi

At protests on Friday, there was less talk of restoring the ousted president and more denunciation of tactics used against Muslim Brotherhood supporters. Demonstrations Protests and Riots,Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ),Morsi Mohamed,Sisi Abdul-Fattah el-,Muslim Brotherhood (Egypt),Cairo (Egypt)

CAIRO — The continuing protests against the military takeover here showed signs on Friday of shifting into a movement against the authoritarian tactics of the new government rather than one demanding the return of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi.

Although the evidence is tentative and anecdotal, any expansion of the protests’ base would be a significant setback for the new government. It has so far enjoyed considerable support for its crackdown on Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood, whom it describes as violence-prone extremists.

UN rights chief concerned Sri Lanka 'increasingly authoritarian'

The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Navy Pillay, says she fears that Sri Lanka is heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction.

Ms Pillay was speaking after a week-long visit to assess the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, four years after the end of a 25 year civil war with Tamil separatists.

"I am deeply concerned that Sri Lanka... is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction," she said.

She says that she is concerned about the degree to which the "military appears to be putting down roots and becoming involved in what should be civilian activities, for instance education, agriculture and even tourism."

Ms Pillay said it was "utterly unacceptable" that rights activists who spoke with her during the fact-finding mission had subsequently faced harassment by the police and the military.

"You don't invite a person like me and then do this type of thing," she said.

"This type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite often attacked or even permanently silenced."

She urged the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse to de-militarise the former war zones in the country's east and north following the end of the ethnic war in 2009.

"It is important everyone realize that although the fighting is over, the suffering is not," she said.

Ms Pillay began her visit last weekend after Colombo appeared to drop its public hostility towards her and the UN rights body, which had adopted two resolutions against the island in as many years, visiting the former northern war zones in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and the eastern district of Trincomalee. 

She has publicly called for a war crimes investigation into what the UN calls "credible allegations" that up to 40,000 civilians were killed during the final stages of the separatist war.

In a statement from his office after meeting with the UN human rights chief on Friday, President Rajapakse said Sri Lanka believes the United Nations is a biased organisation, and Ms Pillay's report, due next month, had already prejudged the country.

Syria crisis: Doctor criticises Miliband over MPs' vote

A doctor has criticised Ed Miliband for his role in Parliament rejecting the principle of Britain taking part in a military strike against Syria.

The doctor, from the charity Hand in Hand for Syria, is known as Dr Rola.

She treated victims of a suspected napalm attack on a school in northern Syria earlier this week.

Dr Rola told the BBC's Newsnight she would invite Mr Miliband and his family to spend time in Syria to experience the horrors suffered by its people.

The UK opposition leader's office said it had not seen the Newsnight interview but said the Labour leader had made clear that finding a diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis should be at the top of the agenda at next week's G20 summit.

In an opinion piece in the Guardian, Mr Miliband said he did not agree that Thursday's vote in the House of Commons meant that Britain cannot make a difference to the "innocent civilians of Syria who are suffering such a humanitarian catastrophe".

'No medication'

Dr Rola said: "I'd like him to spend a day in one of the civilian areas under constant shelling, watching the warplanes above us throw all sorts of weapons on to civilians, and fear for the safety of his family.

"Spend just one day and one night in a tent in one of the camps where the homeless now live and drink sewage water, and try his luck with typhoid fever and no medication."

Labour shadow cabinet member Diane Abbott responded to Dr Rola on Newsnight.

She said: "To say that MPs refused to give Cameron a mandate for bombing this weekend means that we don't care, that we don't think the scenes are horrific, is to misunderstand.

"We debated this for eight long hours and there was a consensus, even among people who voted for Cameron, that bombing the Syrians this weekend would not help matters."

Senior politicians at Westminster have been trying to limit the diplomatic fallout from Parliament's decision not to sanction British involvement in any military intervention.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken by telephone to US President Barack Obama to stress Britain's support for a "firm response" on Syria.

Mr Miliband has insisted that he remains committed to the "special relationship" between the UK and the US.

Mr Obama said he fully respected Mr Cameron's approach, when they spoke during a 15-minute phone call on Friday. The tone of the conversation was said to be friendly.

Motion blocked

The White House believes President Bashar al-Assad's regime was responsible for the chemical attack on 21 August which the US says killed 1,429 people in the Ghouta suburb of Damascus.

The Syrian regime has used military force to attack the opposition

UK ministers ruled out British involvement in any military action after MPs blocked a government motion calling for military action if it was backed up by evidence from UN weapons inspectors.

The US said it would continue to seek a coalition for military intervention and France said its resolve about the need to act was not changed by the UK vote.

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died and at least 1.7 million refugees displaced since the conflict in Syria erupted in March 2011.

The violence began when anti-government protests during the Arab Spring uprisings were met with a brutal response by the Syrian security forces.

President Assad's regime has blamed foreign involvement and armed gangs for the conflict.

Smoke pushes into San Joaquin Valley cities even as containment of massive wildfire grows

FRESNO, Calif. –  Smoke from a wildfire around Yosemite National Park is causing problems in the San Joaquin Valley, even as firefighters make advances against the massive blaze.

Winds had been blowing dense smoke plumes northeast into the Lake Tahoe area and Nevada but a shift brought them west down to the San Joaquin Valley floor.

Regional air pollution control authorities issued a health caution for San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno and Tulare counties. Residents who see or smell smoke were urged to stay inside, especially people with heart of lung problems, older adults and children.

But in signs of progress, By Friday crews had built containment lines around more than a third of the huge forest fire and officials had lifted evacuation advisories in some small communities in the mountainous area,

Also, a few dozen firefighters were released and more could be sent home in coming days, said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. More than 4,800 firefighters remained on the scene late Friday.

"We continue to gain the upper hand, but there's still a lot of work to be done," Berlant said.

The 2-week-old blaze burning in the Sierra Nevada northeast of Fresno has scorched 333 square miles of brush, oaks and pine, making it the largest U.S. wildfire to date this year and the fifth-largest wildfire in modern California records. Containment was estimated at 35 percent.

Evacuation advisories were lifted Thursday in Tuolumne City, Soulsbyville and Willow Springs but remained in place for other communities, and evacuations were still mandatory along the fire's southeastern edge.

About 75 square miles of the fire are inside Yosemite but at some distance from the national park's major attractions, including glacially carved Yosemite Valley's granite monoliths and towering waterfalls.

Park officials expect about 3,000 cars a day to pass through gates during the long Labor Day holiday weekend instead of the nearly 5,000 that might typically show. The fire has caused some people to cancel reservations in the park but those vacancies have been quickly filled, officials said.

"Valley campgrounds are still full and skies in Yosemite Valley are crystal clear," said park spokeswoman Kari Cobb.

A 4-mile stretch of State Route 120, one of three western entrances into Yosemite, remained closed, hurting tourism-dependent businesses in communities along the route.

Costs reached $47 million, including firefighters from 41 states and the District of Columbia and significant aviation resources including helicopters, a DC-10 jumbo jet and military aircraft equipped with the Modular Airborne FireFighting System. Aircraft have dropped 1.7 million gallons of retardant and 1.4 million gallons of water.

The fire started Aug. 17 and its cause remains under investigation. It is expected to keep burning long after it is fully contained, and recovery will be extensive. Some 7,000 damaged trees next to power lines will need to be removed by utility crews and 800 guardrail posts will need to be replaced on Route 120, a fire fact sheet said.

Guilty plea in Canadian tourist deaths in US

MAYS LANDING, New Jersey (AP) — A homeless woman has pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the fatal stabbings of a Canadian mother and daughter who were visiting Atlantic City last year.

The Press of Atlantic City reports 45-year-old Antoinette Pelzer entered her pleas Friday afternoon.

Authorities say Pelzer stabbed 80-year-old Po Lin Wan and 47-year-old Alice Mei See Leung to death during a robbery attempt in May 2012. Pelzer allegedly attacked Leung with a butcher knife then turned on Wan when she tried to intervene. The Scarborough, Ontario women each died at a hospital.

Pelzer's public defender previously said her client had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Pelzer, of Philadelphia, could face two consecutive life sentences under the terms of her plea agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 24.

Couple Married for 71 Years Die Hours Apart

A husband and wife who eloped in 1942 and were married for more than seven decades died hours apart this week at a hospice in northern Illinois.

Family members say Robert and Nora Viands were inseparable during their marriage, which included three separate wedding ceremonies. Together, they raised five children.

"They were really never apart," said one of their daughters, Barb Milton. "They would hold hands in the dining room."

The two lived together in their home until moving to a Rockford retirement center earlier this year as their health deteriorated.

Robert Viands, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, was 92 when he died around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday. Nora Viands, 88, died at 4:45 p.m. She'd been hospitalized with pneumonia in December.

Milton said that whenever the couple would go anywhere throughout their marriage, when their father decided it was time to leave he would tell his wife and be out the door. Robert would wait in the car while Nora would linger, saying her goodbyes.

"We joked (after Nora died) that he was tugging on her, saying 'Come on Nora,' and she said 'No, I have to say goodbye to the kids,'" Milton said.

The couple, who were originally from Ashland in central Illinois, met on a blind date. But family members say Nora wasn't initially smitten, and vowed not to go out with him again.

Robert, who was later drafted during World War II, persisted and the two went on a second date. They eventually eloped to Missouri because at 17, Nora was too young to legally wed in Illinois. To appease their families — she was Catholic, he was Methodist — they had two more ceremonies in their respective churches.

The couple marked their 71st anniversary in June.

Robert Viands spent 30 years working at a distributor company and retired as a rural postal carrier. He enjoyed fishing and gardening. Nora "loved a little flavor of the casinos," according to an obituary, and was a teacher as well as a cheerleading coach.

They also had 18 grandchildren.

Milton said she and her siblings had worried about what would happen to their surviving parent when the other one died. And though they are sad to lose them, "in our hearts we're glad."

"All of us children have said this is the only way they would have wanted it," she said.

A joint funeral will be held Sunday in Rockford, about 80 miles northwest of Chicago.

Naval Academy case involving former football players continues on holiday weekend

WASHINGTON — Prosecutors and three separate legal defense teams will gather for the resumption of a hearing to determine whether three Naval Academy midshipmen will be court-martialed over sexual assault allegations.

The hearing resumes Saturday in the case of three former Navy football players who are accused of sexually assaulting a midshipman at an off-campus party last year.

The alleged victim is now a senior at the academy. During three days of testimony in open court, she has said she does not remember being assaulted by any of the students. She has testified she only learned of the allegations from others afterward.

Defense attorneys have been underscoring the woman's spotty memory from drinking too much.

Swiss Suicide Prompts the Question: What's Undue Stress in a C-Suite?

One of the business world’s sadder and more macabre stories is coming out of serene Switzerland this week. An executive, Pierre Wauthier, finance chief at Zurich Insurance (ZURN:VX), allegedly killed himself and penned a suicide note detailing pressure from Chairman Josef Ackermann.

When Wauthier’s family brought the letter to the remaining executives at Zurich Insurance, Ackermann stepped down, though he described the allegations as “unfounded.” Suffice to say, this isn’t the sort of management challenge one finds in a business school syllabus.

This morning the company’s executives cobbled together a quick conference call in a bid to calm investors. Chief Executive Martin Senn said there is no link between Wauthier’s death and the company’s performance. But he also said Senn “did an excellent job at all times” and the company’s board would “look into the question as to whether there was undue pressure placed on our CFO.”

Ackermann is certainly no softie. One doesn’t rise to the top of an outfit like Deutsche Bank and steer it through the Great Recession without driving a lot of troops above and beyond the call of duty. And it’s certainly likely Ackermann was leaning on Wauthier, a 53-year-old father of two. He joined the board in May 2012 and recently had to sign off on some worse-than-expected results. But it was Ackermann’s job—his legal obligation, in fact—to pressure Wauthier and to a greater extent Senn, the CEO. Meanwhile, former colleagues told Reuters, Ackermann never lost his cool or got personal with co-workers.

Sadly, Wauthier’s fate is relatively common in the business. White males in finance, insurance, and real estate are 1.12 times more likely to commit suicide that the average Joe, according to data compiled by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Suicide statistics are particularly grim for insurance salesmen, who kill themselves 1.38 times more often than average. Financial officers, however, tend to commit suicide at slightly lower-than-typical rates.

Meanwhile, the inquiry announced today raises many more questions than it answers. What constitutes “undue stress” in one of the world’s most-stressful jobs—overseeing finances at a company with more than $70 billion in annual revenue? How will the board go about its investigation? And what does it plan to do with the findings?

Dunkin' Donuts apologizes for blackface ad campaign in Thailand

Dunkin' Donuts on Friday apologized and will pull an advertising campaign running in Thailand that features a model in blackface makeup offering a chocolate doughnut. 

Dunkin' Donuts in Thailand had come under fire Friday for an ad that the Human Rights Watch said was racist. 

The ad in question was for Dunkin's "charcoal donut" and it features a model wearing blackface makeup and bright pink lipstick holding up a bitten doughnut. The translated Thai slogan reads: "Break every rule of deliciousness."

The most outrageous fast food menu items

Karen Raskopf, chief communications officer for Dunkin' Brands, apologized for the advertising running in Thailand. 

"Dunkin' Donuts recognizes the insensitivity of this spot," Raskopf said. "On behalf of our Thailand franchisee and our company, we apologize for any offense it caused. We are working with our franchisee to immediately pull the television spot and to change the campaign."

The marketing effort first drew fire from the Human Rights Watch.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division for the group, said it's "rather incredible that an international company like Dunkin' Donuts" would run such an ad.

The Associated Press said it's common in Thailand for marketing to feature racist undertones. A Thai skin whitening cream, for instance, is advertised in television commercials as boosting job prospects for those who use it. According to the AP, the commercials say white-skinned people have a better chance of landing a job than those with dark skin. 

There's also a line of household mops and dust pans sold under the "Black Man" label. Product labeling features a smiling black man in a tuxedo and bow tie.

The apology stands in stark contrast to what the chief executive of Dunkin's Thailand franchise told the Associated Press.

Nadim Salhani told the AP that criticism of the poster and television spot is just "paranoid American thinking."

"It's absolutely ridiculous," said CEO Nadim Salhani. "We're not allowed to use black to promote our doughnuts? I don't get it. What's the big fuss? What if the product was white and I painted someone white, would that be racist?" 

Apple's iPhone trade-in program to add consumer choice

Apple is poised to start offering an in-store trade-in program, but consumers already have plenty of options to turn their old iPhone into cash—enough, in some cases, to get their next one for free.

The company launched the new program on Friday, offering a credit for returned iPhones that can be used toward the purchase of a new one. That's just in time for Apple's Sept. 10 event where analysts expect the company to announce a new iPhone.

It's not surprising that Apple—which already has an online recycling program that lets consumers trade their iPhone for credit on an Apple gift card—would expand into store trades, said Todd Day, senior industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan. "If you look at Apple's overall business model, it's not just about the devices but the overall universe," he said. Offering a competitive trade-in program helps ensure those customers stick around, particularly if they receive a gift card instead of cash, as is the case with Apple's existing online program.

There's plenty of competition in the field. "Trade-in programs for smartphones have probably become the biggest, hottest area of smartphone transactions this year," said Eddie Hold, vice president of connected intelligence for research firm NPD Group.

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all launched early-upgrade programs this summer that rely on consumers trading in old devices. Retailers including Best Buy, Radio Shack and Amazon.com also have trade-in programs, as do manufacturers including Samsung and HTC and resale sites Gazelle.com and NextWorth.com.

The appeal of the trade-in is clear once you look at the numbers. A nearly 2-year-old 16GB iPhone 4S currently fetches as much as $230 in some trade-in programs (see chart below). If prices for the forthcoming iPhone hold steady, that's more than enough to buy the new model at carriers' usual subsidized price of $199. An iPhone 5 with the same capacity could be worth up to $390, which puts a big dent in the usual $649 retail price for users upgrading mid contact.

Trade-in programs typically also pledge to wipe your device of data.

Maximum trade-in values

Site	16GB iPhone 5	16GB iPhone 4S	16GB iPhone 4	16GB 3GS
Amazon.com*	$389.50	$230	$200	$70
Apple (Recycling program)*	$336	$221	$151	$52
Best Buy*	$315	$157.50	$105	$36.75
Gazelle	$330	$220	$135	$12
NextWorth	$340	$197	$130	$32
RadioShack	$300	$195	$135	$27.50
Verizon*	$259	$162	$83	$27

*Company offers gift card, not cash.

And the market is poised to boom. Just 13 percent of smartphone users trade in their old handsets, according to a July NPD survey of 1,000 consumers. And 40 percent of smartphone buyers in the 12-month period ending June 2013 were first-time smartphone users, the firm reported. As awareness of programs grow, users are increasingly likely to use them when they're ready to upgrade, Hold said.

Consumers can expect aggressive pricing with so many players in the market, said Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecom services for J.D.Power and Associates. Earlier this month, for example, Best Buy offered a minimum $200 trade-in value for any working iPhone 4S, to use toward an upgrade to an iPhone 5. That's nearly $45 more than the current trade-in value for a 16GB model. Gazelle occasionally offers coupon codes for an extra 5 percent on the sale value.

Don't judge by the maximum offer, however. It's worth getting detailed estimates at several sites, Parsons said. The process is usually as simple as answering a few yes/no questions about the phone's condition. Phone damage can, of course, make the price take a nosedive, but some trade-in services also cut their price if the phone was engraved, or if you're missing the manual or charger.

Many trade-in programs also value phones differently by carrier and even color. Amazon.com's program, for example, offers as much as $200 for a black 16GB iPhone 4 from AT&T, versus $120 for the same model from Verizon. And if it's white? That'll be up to $145 for the Verizon version and $180 from AT&T.

Even before the new iPhone is announced, you may be able to start shopping around. Most sites let consumers lock in orders for a short period, ensuring they can have their new phone in hand before sending in the old. That timing varies: Radio Shack has a 20-day window; Apple, 14 days from the time you receive the shipping materials. There's no penalty for missing the window; you'll just have to get a new estimate, with the new market price.

Twitter's legal champion of free speech steps down

SAN FRANCISCO -- Alex Macgillivray, Twitter’s top lawyer who pushed back against government and law enforcement demands and helped stake out the company’s stance as “the free speech wing of the free speech party,” is stepping down.

He made the announcement in a blog post on Friday. And on Twitter, of course: "Passing the torch. I care deeply about Twitter and our users, will continue to help while exploring other passions"

Vijaya Gadde, who has handled Twitter’s corporate and international legal work, will take over as general counsel. Macgillivray said he would continue to work as an advisor to Twitter.

“I continue to care deeply about Twitter, the folks who work at Twitter and our tremendous users, so I’ll remain close to all three,” Macgillivray said in a blog post.

There was an immediate outpouring on Twitter from Macgillivray’s admirers who said they were grateful for his efforts to protect Twitter users’ rights and his advocacy of digital civil liberties.

Tweeted Silicon Valley investor Hunter Walk: "@amac is one of the best I've seen. Not just 'lawyer w good soul' but rather a good soul who happens to practice law."

It’s unclear if Twitter will maintain that same level of commitment to free speech rights after Macgillivray, known on Twitter as @amac, leaves the company. As Twitter expands around the world and prepares for a hotly anticipated initial public stock offering, that commitment has become tougher to maintain.

Seamus Heaney death: Irish reaction

Hollywood actor Liam Neeson has said that Ireland has lost a part of its soul with the death of Seamus Heaney.

Nobel laureate Mr Heaney has died at the age of 74.

Mr Heaney was born near Toomebridge, but as a child moved to Bellaghy in County Londonderry.

County Antrim-born movie star Neeson told the BBC: "With Seamus Heaney's passing, Ireland, and Northern Ireland especially, has lost a part of its artistic soul."

He added: "He crafted, through his poetry, who we are as a species and the living soil that we toiled in. By doing so, he defined our place in the universe. May he rest in peace".

Mr Heaney was a teacher and then had a distinguished career in poetry, winning the Nobel prize for literature in 1995.

Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said he is shocked and saddened by the death of poet Seamus Heaney.

Mr McGuinness tweeted: "Very shocked and deeply saddened to hear that Seamus Heaney, Derry man, poet and Nobel Laureate has died. My thoughts & prayers with Marie and family".

He said Mr Heaney was a "colossus of literature".

"We're all much poorer as a result of his passing today and I feel it very deeply," he said.'

The Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, said Mr Heaney "belongs with Joyce, Yeats, Shaw and Beckett in the pantheon of our greatest literary exponents".

Former US President Bill Clinton said "his uniquely Irish gift for language made him our finest poet of the rhythms of ordinary lives and a powerful voice for peace".

Retired Bishop of Derry Dr Edward Daly knew Seamus Heaney as a friend.

Dr Daly is remembered as the young priest waving a white handkerchief in an iconic photograph from Bloody Sunday.

"Seamus had a very full life. He was a very generous and gentle person and a wonderful poet. He has left a huge legacy behind him," Dr Daly said.

"He has left so much for us all to treasure and enjoy. His legacy will live on for centuries."

Heaney was a classmate of Dr Daly's brother in St Columb's College, Londonderry.

"He wore his huge wisdom very lightly and he gave so generously of his time. He was kind and he had a very gentle wit," he said.

'Global significance'

Former SDLP leader John Hume, who was a close friend of Mr Heaney, said: "His poetry expressed a special love of people, place and diversity of life.

"That profound regard for humanity has made his poetry a special channel for repudiating violence, injustice and prejudice, and urging us all to the better side of our human nature."

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said: "Seamus was undoubtedly one of the greatest literary voices the island of Ireland has ever produced and a great ambassador for Northern Ireland.

"It is some consolation that his spirit will live on through his legacy of work and that future generations will continue to be inspired by his distinctive poetic voice."

Irish President Michael D Higgins said: "Generations of Irish people will have been familiar with Seamus' poems.

"Scholars all over the world will have gained from the depth of the critical essays, and so many rights organisations will want to thank him for all the solidarity he gave to the struggles within the republic of conscience."

Fellow Northern Ireland poet Michael Longley said: "I feel like I've lost a brother and there are tens of thousands of people today who will be feeling personally bereaved because he had a great presence.

"Just as his presence filled a room, his marvellous poems filled the hearts of generations of readers."

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt said: "Seamus Heaney was a man of global significance, whose insight and artistry brought great credit to Northern Ireland. His influence ran broader than the arts.

"We all remember how President Bill Clinton chose Heaney's great phrase about when 'hope and history rhyme' from Heaney's play Cure at Troy in his speech in Londonderry, and went on to use it for the title of his book detailing his vision of the USA in the 21st Century."

Irish Arts Minister Ireland's Jimmy Deenihan said: "He was just a very humble, modest man. He was very accessible.

"Anywhere I have ever travelled in the world and you mention poetry and literature and the name of Seamus Heaney comes up immediately."

'Timeless art'

Belfast's Lyric Theatre tweeted: "The Lyric Theatre is deeply saddened that Seamus Heaney, our long-term friend and supporter, has passed away."

Damien Smith, head of literature and drama at the Northern Ireland Arts Council said: "Those closest to him also include vast numbers of people from right across the globe who read his poetry from his first book when it appeared in the mid-60s.

"He will be remembered in artistic terms as among the very great poets."

Northern Ireland novelist Glen Paterson said: "He was somebody I was introduced to as a poet when I was still at school - I went to see him read when I was still at school.

"Over the years, as I began to write myself, I met him and he was always very generous to younger writers."