Rio high-rise collapses with reports of 11 dead

Police reportedly cordoned off the area and cut off electricity

Part of a building nearly 20 storeys high has collapsed in the centre of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leaving rubble strewn across a wide area.

Emergency services were quoted in TV reports as saying that at least 11 people had been killed or injured, as masonry covered cars and buses.
The cause is not yet known but witnesses spoke of an explosion before the collapse and a strong smell of gas.
Dozens of firefighters and emergency workers are at the scene.
Police have cordoned off the area and electricity to the street has been cut off for safety reasons, reports the AP news agency.

UN concerns over Libya militias and secret detention

Libya's revolutionary forces have reportedly been expelled from the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid

 

Libyan militias are out of control and holding thousands of people in secret detention centres, while the weak interim government struggles to assert its authority, the UN has heard.

The Security Council was told recent violence in Tripoli, Bani Walid and Benghazi highlighted the problem.
More than 8,000 pro-Gaddafi supporters are being held by militia groups, amid reports of torture, officials warned.
Four died in clashes in Bani Walid, a former Gaddafi stronghold, on Monday.
The UN's Libya envoy, Ian Martin, told the Security Council in New York on Wednesday that those clashes between armed residents of Bani Walid and revolutionaries had been misreported as pro-Gaddafi forces retaking the city.

Nevertheless, he said, it highlighted the challenge of reconciling the former leader's supporters and the rebels that had defeated them.

Militias were responsible for fatal clashes in Tripoli and fighting in other towns this month, he said.
"The former regime may have been toppled, but the harsh reality is that the Libyan people continue to have to live with its deep-rooted legacy," said Mr Martin.
He described that legacy as "weak, at times absent, state institutions, coupled with the long absence of political parties and civil society organisations, which render the country's transition more difficult".
Mr Martin said some steps had been taken towards demobilising ex-combatants.
But the government was struggling to establish its legitimacy, he added, with weapons freely available and various armed brigades having unclear lines of command and control.
While authorities had so far successfully contained any outbreaks of violence, they could escalate and widen in scope, he warned.
 

'Berserk' India bus driver kills nine in Pune

A student said he boarded the bus and stopped the driver

A bus driver has smashed his vehicle into traffic and pedestrians in the western Indian city of Pune, killing nine people and injuring 27 others.

The driver damaged 40 vehicles before the bus was brought to a halt after 30 minutes and police arrested him.
The driver, named as Santosh Maruti Mane, "went berserk" on a 25km (17 mile) rampage during the morning rush hour, police said.
They are questioning the 30-year-old driver to try to determine a motive.
'Second life' Mr Mane, who is a driver with the government-run state transport department, arrived at a bus depot early on Wednesday and drove off with an empty bus, police said.

Eyewitnesses said he drove the vehicle at very high speed and on the wrong side of the road through busy areas, running over pedestrians and smashing into vehicles.

College student Sharif Ibrahim Kutty, 21, was among the two people who jumped into the moving bus and stopped the driver.
He told BBC Urdu: "I was going to college on my motorbike when I heard a screeching noise and saw that a bus nearby was racing across the road at a speed of 80-90km/h.
"It ran over this woman right in front of me then it crashed into a car. I was going to help the woman when I saw that the bus suddenly turned around and
began speeding again.
"I started chasing the bus. I was blowing my horn, yelling and waving and trying to warn everybody to get out of the way."
Mr Kutty, a student at Pune college, said police fired to try to stop the bus. It then slowed down after another collision.

Santosh Maruti Mane is led away after the incident

He said: "I got off my motorcycle and crossed over and got on to the bus from the passenger door. I got hold of the driver and threw him off."
Mr Kutty said the driver "did not look angry, he just seemed expressionless".
Pune police chief Meeran Borwankar told reporters: "We don't know why the driver behaved like this. He just went berserk. We are trying to find out the reason.
"Citizens came forward and literally threw children away from the road. He was in such a dangerous mood. Ultimately he was held [by police] but the
damage has been tremendous," she said.
TV pictures showed smashed cars, cycles and auto-rickshaws that had been hit by the bus.
"Whoever came in his way, he just rammed into them," one eyewitness told a news channel.

South Korea's growth hit by weak European demand

South Koreans have a huge amount of personal debt through credit cards and mortgages

 

South Korea's economy grew at a slower pace in the fourth quarter of 2011, as the global economy weakened and the eurozone debt crisis hit exports.

Gross domestic product expanded by 0.4% in the three months to December, compared with the third quarter, when it gained 0.8%, the central bank said.
Compared with the same period the previous year, the economy grew 3.4%.
The Bank of Korea said the slowdown in exports was compounding problems in the country.
Debt concern "While private consumption and investments in facilities and the construction sector remained sluggish, exports also turned negative in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter," the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a statement.
Exports fell 1.5% in the fourth quarter, compared with the third, when overseas shipments gained 2.2%, the data showed.
Analysts said they expected the pace of growth to fall further as the global economy remains weak.
"What it has to struggle against is the possibility of the eurozone falling into a tailspin," Jasper Kim from the Asia-Pacific Global Research Group in Seoul told the BBC.
However, Mr Kim pointed out that South Korea was already struggling with its own debt before the eurozone debt crisis began.
"Korea has a unique debt problem, it has nearly $1 trillion (£639bn) worth of personal debt, half of which are credit cards and a notable portion dealing with mortgages," he said.
Increasing risks The BOK said earlier this month that risks to South Korea's economy were increasing and growth may slow for some time before picking up.
It decided to leave interest rates on hold on 13 January for the seventh month in a row.
Like some other countries in the region, authorities in export-dependent South Korea face a dilemma. They must weigh the need to bring down high inflation with the possibility that they may need to boost growth to counter the slowdown in Europe.
Over the whole of 2011, the South Korean economy grew by 3.6%, compared with expansion of 6.2% seen in 2010.
The BOK is forecasting growth of 3.7% in 2012 and 4.2% in 2013.
 

QPR and Chelsea issue fans warning in bid to lower tensions

Terry is expected to start for Chelsea in the FA Cup tie at QPR

QPR and Chelsea have said they will take action against anyone using discriminatory language during their FA Cup tie on Saturday.

The match will be the first time the two clubs have met since Chelsea's John Terry was charged with racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in October's derby.
A QPR and Chelsea joint statement said: "Discrimination has no place in football or society."
On Tuesday, QPR encouraged Ferdinand to shake hands with Terry before the tie.

Blues manager Andre Villas-Boas has appealed for calm ahead of the game at QPR's Loftus Road ground.
The statement added: "Both clubs enjoy fantastic support. However we would remind fans that, while we want to hear their passion, it's a fact that hatred and abuse is not what being a fan of QPR or Chelsea is about.
"The clubs will work together with the police to ensure that anyone using discriminatory or inflammatory language is identified and that the strongest possible action is taken against them.
"We would urge fans witnessing any form of abuse to report it to a matchday steward.
"Let's make Saturday's match a celebration of football.
"A local derby is always a special occasion and this weekend's FA Cup tie is a unique opportunity to show the world that hatred has no place in our game, our clubs, or our communities."
The Chelsea skipper was charged after his side's 1-0 league defeat at Loftus Road on 23 October.
The England captain, who denies the allegations, will not be attending the hearing at West London Magistrates Court on 1 February. His legal team will enter a not guilty plea on his behalf.

China says one Tibetan killed in second Sichuan clash

There are large communities of ethnic Tibetans in several parts of Sichuan province

 

China has confirmed that a Tibetan was shot dead by security forces in Sichuan province, in the second day of unrest this week. Local officials said a mob attacked a police station in Seda county on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Tibetan activist groups said security forces fired on people protesting against religious repression.
On Monday, at least two other protesters were killed in neighbouring Draggo county.
There are large communities of ethnic Tibetans in several parts of Sichuan province, which borders Tibet.
Accounts of violence in the area differ and are difficult to verify. Foreign media, including the BBC, are rarely allowed access there.
Xinhua news agency said that police used force in Seda "after efforts involving persuasion and non-lethal weapon defence failed to disperse the mob". Its report said one "rioter" was killed.
Police said that the mob attacked the police station "with gasoline bottles, knives and stones" and "opened fire at us".

Xinhua also quoted experts from the Sichuan Tibetan Research Institute as saying that the two "attacks" in Sichuan province were "premeditated and organised violence".

But Tibet campaign groups dispute this version of events and say at least two people were killed in Seda. UK-based Free Tibet says that the town is now under curfew, citing local residents.
Free Tibet director Stephanie Brigden said in a statement on Wednesday that China was "responding with lethal force" to Tibetans' "calls for freedom".
'Dozens injured' On Monday, it was reported that at least two people were killed in another clash in Sichuan province.
Chinese state media said a mob armed with knives ''stormed and smashed some stores along a main street and a police station'', and also destroyed four vehicles in Draggo county.

Activists say Chinese security forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators.
Free Tibet reported two dead, while the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in India and the US-based rights group International Campaign for Tibet put the death toll at three. Xinhua said one person died.
A monk from the monastery in Draggo told the Associated Press news agency in a telephone interview on Tuesday that 33 people were being treated for injuries at the compound.
The US state department has expressed serious concern about the reports, urging the Chinese government "to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives as a means to address Tibetan concerns".
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Tuesday that "overseas secessionist groups" were trying to discredit the government.
In recent months, however, there have been several protests and incidents in ethnic Tibetan parts of Sichuan province.
Since March 2011, 16 ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fire in what are described as protests at perceived cultural and religious repression under Chinese rule. Several of them are known to have died.
The authorities in Beijing have moved to suppress religious activism since riots in Tibet four years ago killed 19 people.
China's government has described the self-immolators as terrorists and has accused the Dalai Lama of encouraging their actions in order to put pressure on the authorities to make political concessions. 

Egypt anniversary demonstrators remain in Tahrir Square

Thousands of people remained in the square as night fell

 

Thousands of Egyptians have remained in Cairo's Tahrir Square after a rally marking the anniversary of the uprising which toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Some have vowed to stay until another rally planned for Friday, news agencies reported.
Many of the protesters are demanding a speedy handover of power from the interim military authorities.
Others are urging patience and celebrating the success of Islamist parties in post-Mubarak elections.
The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) of the Muslim Brotherhood - banned under Mr Mubarak - holds the largest number of seats in the newly elected parliament, although this does not mean it will be invited to form a government.
Large rallies were also reported in Suez, several parts of the Nile delta, and in the Sinai peninsula.
Mr Mubarak, who fled the capital after less than three weeks of protests, has since been put on trial accused of ordering the killing of demonstrators. He denies the charges.
'Goals not met' The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Cairo, says the mood at the anniversary rally in Tahrir Square has been peaceful, resembling more a huge street party than a political protest.

he various groups are all competing to claim ownership of the revolution, he says, from the youth movement which began the protests a year ago, to the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf), which took power last February after Mr Mubarak stepped down.

Many of the protesters demanded an immediate handover of power.
"I am not here to celebrate. I am here for a second revolution," said unemployed Attiya Mohammed Attiya. "The military council is made of remnants of the Mubarak regime. We will only succeed when we remove them from power."
Chef Hala Rashad told AFP: "We will keep going to Tahrir to push for the goals of the revolution, no matter what.
"The military council has done nothing. They are behaving just like the old regime. We have not received our rights and the country is a mess."
Other groups chanted "Down with military rule" and "Revolution until victory, revolution in all of Egypt's streets".
But supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood said the protests should end and the new leaders be given time to move Egypt forward.
Teacher Alaa Mohammed said the military council had overseen the "cleanest elections ever" and protected the revolution.
Others said they had turned out to remember the more than 850 people killed during the Tahrir Square protests.
"We should not forget that there was bloodshed here. This is not a celebration, but it is a big event to send our condolences to our brothers who passed away between the 25th of last January and now," said Walid Saad.