Russia removes Georgia checkpoint
About 12 EU patrols began operating on Wednesday
Russian troops have removed a key checkpoint from Georgian territory near the breakaway province of South Ossetia, European Union observers say.
The checkpoint, near the town of Gori, a gateway to the separatist region, is the first taken down by the Russians under a withdrawal pledge.
Russia has agreed to pull out troops from two buffer zones within Georgia by 10 October, under EU observation.
Russia and Georgia fought a 10-day conflict over South Ossetia in August.
See a map of the region
Russia has kept troops in South Ossetia - and Georgia's other breakaway region, Abkhazia - since ousting Georgian forces during the conflict.
Moscow has boosted security in South Ossetia in recent days following an explosion in the region which killed eight Russian soldiers and three civilians.
The chief of staff of what Russia calls its peacekeeping operation in the region was among those killed, Moscow said, accusing Georgian secret services of arranging the blast. Georgia denied the accusation. EU OBSERVERS IN GEORGIA
More than 200 unarmed observers from 22 EU nations
HQ in Tbilisi, with additional four field offices
Oversee Russia's pullout from "buffer zones" by 10 Oct
Deployed under a French-brokered peace deal
Mission's initial duration is 12 months
Some 200 EU observers from 22 nations are now on the ground overseeing the military's compliance, or otherwise, with pledges made by leaders at the Kremlin.
They reported the first signs of progress on Sunday morning at a checkpoint previously manned by 20-30 Russian soldiers.
"Our observers went to the checkpoint in Ali, north-west of Gori, and saw that it has been dismantled," and EU spokesman told the AFP news agency.
"This is the first dismantled checkpoint."
A regional police chief told Reuters the checkpoint was in the village of Nabakhtevi.
Tensions
The Russian pull-back was agreed in the ceasefire deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
But Russia plans to keep nearly 8,000 troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which it has recognised as independent states.
Western leaders have condemned both the buffer zones and Russia's recognition of the two regions.
The EU wants its observers to have access to the breakaway regions, but Russia has repeatedly refused to guarantee that.
The fighting in the region began on 7 August when Georgia tried to retake South Ossetia by force after a series of lower-level clashes.
Russia launched a counter-attack and the Georgian troops were ejected from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia days later.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Suicide bomber strikes in Mosul
Suicide bomber strikes in Mosul
Eleven people have been killed during a American raid in the Iraqi city of Mosul in which a suicide bomber blew himself up, the US military says.
Three women and three children were among the dead at the private home, the US military said, adding that five "terrorists" had also died.
However, an official at a local morgue told the BBC most of the dead showed signs of bullet wounds.
Elsewhere in Mosul, four people were killed when gunmen attacked a funeral.
Three other people were wounded in the drive-by attack in the Zanjili district, the BBC's Hugh Sykes reports from Baghdad.
In September, three members of an Iraqi television crew and their driver were kidnapped and shot dead in the same neighbourhood.
'Last stronghold'
In a statement on the deadly explosion, US officials said troops had exchanged fire with armed men as they entered the building for what they described as an operation to capture a wanted man.
The morgue official dealing with the aftermath of the suicide bombing said one body bag contained fragments of human remains, consistent with the report that there was a suicide bomber at the house, our correspondent says.
US authorities confirmed that some of those who died could have been killed by gunshot wounds.
Following the blast soldiers later found weapons and explosives in the building, the statement said.
"This is just another tragic example of how al-Qaeda in Iraq hides behind innocent Iraqis," a spokesman said.
On Saturday US forces said they had killed a senior al-Qaeda bomb-maker and strategist in Baghdad.
Our correspondent says American forces have mounted many attacks this year against suspected al-Qaeda members in Mosul, which they describe as al-Qaeda's last stronghold.
Eleven people have been killed during a American raid in the Iraqi city of Mosul in which a suicide bomber blew himself up, the US military says.
Three women and three children were among the dead at the private home, the US military said, adding that five "terrorists" had also died.
However, an official at a local morgue told the BBC most of the dead showed signs of bullet wounds.
Elsewhere in Mosul, four people were killed when gunmen attacked a funeral.
Three other people were wounded in the drive-by attack in the Zanjili district, the BBC's Hugh Sykes reports from Baghdad.
In September, three members of an Iraqi television crew and their driver were kidnapped and shot dead in the same neighbourhood.
'Last stronghold'
In a statement on the deadly explosion, US officials said troops had exchanged fire with armed men as they entered the building for what they described as an operation to capture a wanted man.
The morgue official dealing with the aftermath of the suicide bombing said one body bag contained fragments of human remains, consistent with the report that there was a suicide bomber at the house, our correspondent says.
US authorities confirmed that some of those who died could have been killed by gunshot wounds.
Following the blast soldiers later found weapons and explosives in the building, the statement said.
"This is just another tragic example of how al-Qaeda in Iraq hides behind innocent Iraqis," a spokesman said.
On Saturday US forces said they had killed a senior al-Qaeda bomb-maker and strategist in Baghdad.
Our correspondent says American forces have mounted many attacks this year against suspected al-Qaeda members in Mosul, which they describe as al-Qaeda's last stronghold.
India 'not a threat to Pakistan'
India 'not a threat to Pakistan'
By Barbara Plett
BBC News, Islamabad
Mr Zardari's remarks mark a radical break with the past
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari says India has never been a threat to Pakistan, and that militants in Indian-administered Kashmir are terrorists.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he also seemed to acknowledge that his government has given consent to US air strikes in Pakistan.
The unorthodox views run counter to those held by Pakistan's military, which viewsIndia as a threat.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars but have made recent peace moves.
Deep suspicions
Pakistan's powerful military has long-defined India as an existential threat, and in the past it has given covert backing to the militants in Kashmir.
The two regional rivals did take part in a faltering peace process under the former president, General Pervez Musharraf.
But suspicions always ran deep, and relations have soured recently.
Mr Zardari's comments thus mark a radical break with the past.
The Wall Street Journal also reports that Mr Zardari acknowledged that the US was firing missiles at militant targets inside Pakistan with his government's consent.
"We have an understanding, in the sense that we're going after an enemy together," it quotes him as saying.
But the Pakistani army is adamant that coalition forces do not have permission for such cross-border raids.
These incursions have stoked enormous anger in Pakistan - and Mr Zardari's comments may do the same.
By Barbara Plett
BBC News, Islamabad
Mr Zardari's remarks mark a radical break with the past
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari says India has never been a threat to Pakistan, and that militants in Indian-administered Kashmir are terrorists.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he also seemed to acknowledge that his government has given consent to US air strikes in Pakistan.
The unorthodox views run counter to those held by Pakistan's military, which viewsIndia as a threat.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars but have made recent peace moves.
Deep suspicions
Pakistan's powerful military has long-defined India as an existential threat, and in the past it has given covert backing to the militants in Kashmir.
The two regional rivals did take part in a faltering peace process under the former president, General Pervez Musharraf.
But suspicions always ran deep, and relations have soured recently.
Mr Zardari's comments thus mark a radical break with the past.
The Wall Street Journal also reports that Mr Zardari acknowledged that the US was firing missiles at militant targets inside Pakistan with his government's consent.
"We have an understanding, in the sense that we're going after an enemy together," it quotes him as saying.
But the Pakistani army is adamant that coalition forces do not have permission for such cross-border raids.
These incursions have stoked enormous anger in Pakistan - and Mr Zardari's comments may do the same.
Obama attacks McCain health plans
Obama attacks McCain health plans
John McCain and Barack Obama (composite image)
Mr McCain is preparing for Tuesday's debate while Mr Obama campaigns
US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has attacked the healthcare plans of Republican rival John McCain at a rally in Virginia.
Speaking to some 18,000 people, Senator Obama described the Arizona senator's policy as "radical" and warned that millions of people could lose out.
A McCain spokesman rejected the claim, saying it was "a bald-faced lie".
Meanwhile, Mr McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin accused Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists".
Speaking in Colorado, she was referring to Mr Obama's association with a former 1960s radical.
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Sarah Palin accuses Obama of associating with 'a domestic terrorist'
Mr McCain has left the campaign trail for Arizona, where he is preparing for Tuesday's second presidential debate.
Mr Obama's rally in Virginia came ahead of a Monday deadline for voters to register there and in more than a dozen other states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Florida.
The Obama campaign has signed up singers Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z to play at events in Philadelphia and Detroit, as well as Ohio State University.
Voter turnout could be key in deciding the outcome of the 4 November presidential election.
Healthcare claims
The Obama campaign launched its attack on Mr McCain's healthcare proposals with new adverts on TV and radio and leaflets sent to homes in every battleground state.
Mr McCain has proposed tax credits to help more people pay for health insurance, while Mr Obama wants to bring about universal coverage by providing subsidies to make it more affordable.
Joe Biden and Sarah Palin at the debate in Missouri
Record numbers watched Joe Biden and Sarah Palin in the VP debate
Speaking at the rally in Newport News, Virginia, Mr Obama said Mr McCain's promise of tax credits to help pay for health insurance would be paid for by taxing people's health benefits.
He warned that this would raise costs for employers, leading many to abandon their schemes.
He said: "Study after study has shown, that under the McCain plan, at least 20 million Americans will lose the insurance they rely on from their workplace."
McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds rejected Mr Obama's claim as a lie.
"John McCain will improve the tax code so that middle-class pay cheques aren't used to pay government bureaucrats but instead will pay for the access to healthcare Americans deserve," Mr Bounds said.
Research suggests the tax credit Mr McCain proposes would be more generous than the current tax break, the Associated Press reports.
Opinion polls suggest healthcare is an important issue for voters.
Militant group
Mr McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Palin, was to campaign in California on Saturday.
Speaking to supporters in Colorado, she attacked Mr Obama over his link to Bill Ayers, a founder of the militant group Weather Underground, which took credit for a number of bombings in the US in the 1960s.
She described Mr Obama as someone who saw the US "as being so imperfect... he is palling around with terrorists who would target their own country".
Mr Obama, who served on a charity board with Mr Ayers - now a professor at the University of Illinois - several years ago, has denounced his radical activities.
Commentators say Mrs Palin's attack forms part of a broader Republican strategy to attack Mr Obama's character.
The Alaska governor also repeated her wish that the McCain campaign had not this week pulled out of the battleground state of Michigan, effectively conceding it to Mr Obama.
Meanwhile, viewing figures show a record 69.9m people tuned in to watch Mrs Palin take part in Thursday's televised vice-presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
That number eclipsed the mark set in 1984, when 56.7m people watched Geraldine Ferraro, the only previous female US vice-presidential candidate, go head-to-head with George Bush Senior.
Man 'torches in-laws' in Austria
Man 'torches in-laws' in Austria
Map
An Austrian man has been arrested on suspicion of burning his in-laws to death with a home-made flame-thrower.
Police said the 48-year-old used a propane gas container to torch the elderly couple as they lay in bed in the village of St Magdalena am Lemberg.
The bed-ridden woman, who had lost both her legs to diabetes, died where she lay but her husband was found in the garden having tried to escape.
Police said the suspect's wife was in the house but escaped through a window.
The suspect fled the scene but was found later having stabbed himself in the stomach, said police.
Chief investigator Anton Kiesl said the man was being kept in hospital in an induced coma. The suspect's motives were not immediately clear.
Kim Jong-il 'at football match'
Kim Jong-il 'at football match'
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Kim Jong-il has not been seen in since mid-August
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il is reported to have made his first public appearance since rumours surfaced that he had suffered a stroke.
Mr Kim attended a student football match in Pyongyang, state media said.
The 66-year-old leader had not been seen since mid-August. US and South Korean officials said he had suffered a stroke and undergone brain surgery.
Mr Kim did not appear at a 9 September anniversary parade, but North Korean officials denied he was ill.
North Korea's state news agency, KCNA, reported that Mr Kim watched a football game to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of Kim Il-Sung University, named for his father, the founder of North Korea.
Kim Il-Sung University was reported to have beaten Pyongyang University of Railways 4-1.
The report did not say what day the game had taken place but the anniversary of Kim Il-Sung University is 1 October.
No-one has been named to succeed Mr Kim as leader.
His reported illness has come at a difficult time in international negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programme.
North Korea agreed last year to give up its nuclear programme in return for aid and diplomatic concessions but the deal has floundered in recent months.
there is No banks bail-out fund for Europe
No banks bail-out fund for Europe
Nicolas Sarkozy: Each government will act in a co-ordinated manner
Europe's biggest economies have agreed to work together to support financial institutions - but without forming a joint bail-out fund.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy hosted the meeting of the leaders of Britain, Germany and Italy in Paris.
They agreed to seek a relaxation of the EU rules governing the amount of money individual states could borrow.
Mr Sarkozy announced a series of other measures - including unspecified action against the executives of failed banks.
Speaking after the meeting at a joint news conference, he said the four had agreed that the leaders of a financial institution that had to be rescued should be "sanctioned".
Mr Sarkozy added: "Each government will operate with its own methods and means, but in a co-ordinated manner."
Gordon Brown: We're doing everything that we can
Leaders were reminded of just how serious the crisis is as talks to rescue Germany's second largest mortgage lender collapsed.
Hypo Real Estate said the 35bn euro (£27.8bn, $51.21bn) deal had fallen apart after the banking consortium involved pulled out. The lender said it would seek to stay in business through "alternative measures".
Meanwhile, Mr Sarkozy suggested EU budget rules - requiring eurozone states to keep their budget deficits below 3% and overall public debt below 60% of gross domestic product - would be adapted to deal with the current "exceptional circumstances".
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso agreed that the budget rules would be applied with "flexibility".
European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet and the chairman of the eurozone group of finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker also attended the summit.
The leaders issued a joint call for a G8 summit "as soon as possible" to review the rules governing financial markets.
Ireland reproach
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said governments would continue to take measures to ease the credit shortage.
It has to be indicated to the markets... that European countries will not react as every man for himself
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF head
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"The message to families and to businesses is that, as our central banks are already doing, liquidity will be assured in order to preserve confidence and stability," he told reporters after the mini-summit.
He said European leaders should send the message that "no sound, solvent bank should be allowed to fail through lack of liquidity".
Mr Brown also won approval at the summit for his proposal for a £12bn EU fund to help keep small businesses afloat during the economic crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel - who said she was not happy with Ireland's action in guaranteeing bank deposits - said each country must act in "a balanced way" that did not cause harm to other EU member states.
"Each country must take its responsibilities at a national level," she said.
'Trial by fire'
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, had earlier urged the EU to take co-ordinated action, saying the financial crisis was presenting Europe with a "trial by fire".
Bank of Ireland building
No business rush to Irish banks
He held talks with Mr Sarkozy before the EU leaders' meeting and said that although the EU was a more complex organisation than the US, Europe needed to take "concerted collective action".
He said: "It has to be indicated to the markets... that European countries will not react as every man for himself."
He also said he would be scaling back his world economic growth forecasts.
Ahead of the meeting, Germany had made clear its opposition to any co-ordinated European bail-out plan. Mr Brown was also sceptical of the need for any Europe-wide plan.
The president of the European Parliament has criticised the summit, warning that the leaders of Europe's four largest economies have no power to decide for the entire European Union.
Calls for European action follow the bail-out of both Bradford and Bingley in the UK and Fortis Bank by the governments of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
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