[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]
[Africa]
Page last updated at 12:11 GMT, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 13:11 UK
Guinea rally death toll nears 130
At least 128 people were killed when Guinean troops opened fire on opposition protesters on Monday, rights groups and opposition figures claim.
Earlier police said 87 people had died, but local activists say hospital sources confirmed a much higher toll.
Human rights groups say they have had reports of soldiers bayoneting people and women being stripped and raped in the streets during Monday's protest.
Junta head Captain Moussa Dadis Camara denied knowledge of sexual assaults.
About 50,000 people were protesting over rumours that Capt Camara intends to run for president in an election schedule for next January.
But soldiers moved in to quell the rally using tear gas and baton charges and firing live ammunition into the crowds.
An eyewitness told Human Rights Watch: "I saw the Red Berets [an elite military unit] catch some of the women who were trying to flee, rip off their clothes, and stick their hands in their private parts.
"Others beat the women, including on their genitals. It was pathetic - the women were crying out."
Another eyewitness told the group: "I saw several women stripped and then put inside the military trucks and taken away. I don't know what happened to them."
There has been worldwide condemnation of the violence.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Guinean authorities to exercise maximum restraint, while the West African regional body Ecowas is reported to be pursuing sanctions against the military regime.
[South Asia]
Page last updated at 12:07 GMT, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 13:07 UK
Afghan bus bombing kills dozens
At least 30 civilians travelling on a bus in southern Afghanistan have been killed by a roadside bomb blast, the Afghan interior ministry has said.
The bus was on its way from Herat to Kandahar when the device exploded, the ministry said, adding that 10 children and seven women were among the dead.
The most seriously wounded have been taken to a Nato base for treatment.
Kandahar's provincial government blamed the Taliban for planting the device, although the group has yet to comment.
A similar blast on the same main road - in Maywand district - had killed three civilians on Monday, a government spokesman said.
"An explosion hit the bus. I don't know what happened. When I came to, I got out of the bus and saw that it was totally wrecked," one of the passengers, Lal Jan, told the Associated Press in Kandahar.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says the Taliban are increasingly using roadside bombs to attack foreign forces.
However, civilians are frequently caught up in the violence, our correspondent says. According to the UN, more than 1,500 have been killed this year, the majority in insurgent attacks.
'More troops needed'
The deaths come shortly after Anders Fogh Rasmussen made his first speech in the United States as Nato secretary-general.
{{MARDELL'S AMERICA}
{ Some want to get back a strategy where the main aim is killing terrorists, not building a nation}
Mark Mardell
BBC North America editor}}
Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington, the former Danish prime minister called on European nations to stand with US forces in Afghanistan.
There are currently some 100,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan from more than 40 countries - more than 60,000 of them American.
US military commanders have warned that more troops will be needed, but US President Barack Obama says he will not decide until after a strategy review.
The commanding US officer in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, delivered a review of the situation in the country to Mr Obama earlier this month.
However, rising military casualties have undermined public support for the operation in some Western countries.
Correspondents say European nations are not expected to offer any significant increase in troops unless Washington takes the lead.
The Netherlands and Canada have already set 2010 and 2011 as deadlines for withdrawal and Italy has announced plans for a "strong reduction" in its forces.
[South Asia]
Page last updated at 10:04 GMT, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 11:04 UK
Air India protest hampers flights
Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded in India because of a strike by senior pilots working for the national carrier, Air India.
The company says that a significant number of flights have been disrupted after pilots reported sick for a fourth consecutive day as part of a protest.
The pilots are protesting against the cancellation of performance-related bonuses by the cash-strapped airline.
Talks between pilots and management failed to reach a solution on Monday.
The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says that the Indian aviation industry has been hit hard by the global economic turndown with increased costs of operation and travellers opting for low-cost airlines or train services.
Earlier this month a protest by pilots for India's privately-owned Jet Airways caused considerable disruption.
During that protest hundreds of passengers were stranded at various airports, leading to angry confrontations.
Air India said that the pilots' refusal to accept their decision to slash bonuses and incentives by up to 50% were "unacceptable".
So far the management has held firm saying they need to cut costs since Air India is facing huge losses because of the worldwide recession.
Air India is state owned and the government is now intervening to try and end the crisis. The airline posted losses of more than $800m in 2008-09 and has asked the government for a financial bail-out.
But it also said that it was keeping options open. As well as cancelling many flights, the airline has suspended bookings for flights in the next fortnight.
The struggling airline had to delay by a fortnight payment of June salaries and incentives to its 31,500 employees.
The protest comes as airlines around the world try to cope with declining passenger traffic due to the global slowdown.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 08:56 GMT, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 09:56 UK
Six jailed for Vietnam baby fraud
Six Vietnamese have been sentenced to jail for arranging more than 300 fraudulent adoptions, an official said.
The six were jailed for two to four-and-a-half years for "abuse of power", court official Nguyen Tien Hung said.
Among those convicted were two heads of provincial welfare centres, doctors, nurses and local officials.
They were found to have filed false papers to allow babies from poor families to be adopted, many by parents in France, Italy and the US.
Ten other people received suspended sentences of 15 to 18 months.
They came from the province of Nam Dinh, south of Hanoi.
The falsified papers said the babies had been abandoned, making them eligible for adoption by foreign parents, the prosecutors said.
The group was operating from 2005 to July 2008, when the two key suspects were arrested.
The case came to light last year after the US embassy in Hanoi accused Vietnam of failing to police its adoption system, allowing corruption, fraud and baby-selling to flourish.
The US report led Vietnam to end a bilateral adoption agreement.
[Africa]
Page last updated at 12:11 GMT, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 13:11 UK
Guinea rally death toll nears 130
At least 128 people were killed when Guinean troops opened fire on opposition protesters on Monday, rights groups and opposition figures claim.
Earlier police said 87 people had died, but local activists say hospital sources confirmed a much higher toll.
Human rights groups say they have had reports of soldiers bayoneting people and women being stripped and raped in the streets during Monday's protest.
Junta head Captain Moussa Dadis Camara denied knowledge of sexual assaults.
About 50,000 people were protesting over rumours that Capt Camara intends to run for president in an election schedule for next January.
But soldiers moved in to quell the rally using tear gas and baton charges and firing live ammunition into the crowds.
An eyewitness told Human Rights Watch: "I saw the Red Berets [an elite military unit] catch some of the women who were trying to flee, rip off their clothes, and stick their hands in their private parts.
"Others beat the women, including on their genitals. It was pathetic - the women were crying out."
Another eyewitness told the group: "I saw several women stripped and then put inside the military trucks and taken away. I don't know what happened to them."
There has been worldwide condemnation of the violence.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the Guinean authorities to exercise maximum restraint, while the West African regional body Ecowas is reported to be pursuing sanctions against the military regime.
[South Asia]
Page last updated at 12:07 GMT, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 13:07 UK
Afghan bus bombing kills dozens
At least 30 civilians travelling on a bus in southern Afghanistan have been killed by a roadside bomb blast, the Afghan interior ministry has said.
The bus was on its way from Herat to Kandahar when the device exploded, the ministry said, adding that 10 children and seven women were among the dead.
The most seriously wounded have been taken to a Nato base for treatment.
Kandahar's provincial government blamed the Taliban for planting the device, although the group has yet to comment.
A similar blast on the same main road - in Maywand district - had killed three civilians on Monday, a government spokesman said.
"An explosion hit the bus. I don't know what happened. When I came to, I got out of the bus and saw that it was totally wrecked," one of the passengers, Lal Jan, told the Associated Press in Kandahar.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says the Taliban are increasingly using roadside bombs to attack foreign forces.
However, civilians are frequently caught up in the violence, our correspondent says. According to the UN, more than 1,500 have been killed this year, the majority in insurgent attacks.
'More troops needed'
The deaths come shortly after Anders Fogh Rasmussen made his first speech in the United States as Nato secretary-general.
{{MARDELL'S AMERICA}
{ Some want to get back a strategy where the main aim is killing terrorists, not building a nation}
Mark Mardell
BBC North America editor}}
Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington, the former Danish prime minister called on European nations to stand with US forces in Afghanistan.
There are currently some 100,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan from more than 40 countries - more than 60,000 of them American.
US military commanders have warned that more troops will be needed, but US President Barack Obama says he will not decide until after a strategy review.
The commanding US officer in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, delivered a review of the situation in the country to Mr Obama earlier this month.
However, rising military casualties have undermined public support for the operation in some Western countries.
Correspondents say European nations are not expected to offer any significant increase in troops unless Washington takes the lead.
The Netherlands and Canada have already set 2010 and 2011 as deadlines for withdrawal and Italy has announced plans for a "strong reduction" in its forces.
[South Asia]
Page last updated at 10:04 GMT, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 11:04 UK
Air India protest hampers flights
Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded in India because of a strike by senior pilots working for the national carrier, Air India.
The company says that a significant number of flights have been disrupted after pilots reported sick for a fourth consecutive day as part of a protest.
The pilots are protesting against the cancellation of performance-related bonuses by the cash-strapped airline.
Talks between pilots and management failed to reach a solution on Monday.
The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says that the Indian aviation industry has been hit hard by the global economic turndown with increased costs of operation and travellers opting for low-cost airlines or train services.
Earlier this month a protest by pilots for India's privately-owned Jet Airways caused considerable disruption.
During that protest hundreds of passengers were stranded at various airports, leading to angry confrontations.
Air India said that the pilots' refusal to accept their decision to slash bonuses and incentives by up to 50% were "unacceptable".
So far the management has held firm saying they need to cut costs since Air India is facing huge losses because of the worldwide recession.
Air India is state owned and the government is now intervening to try and end the crisis. The airline posted losses of more than $800m in 2008-09 and has asked the government for a financial bail-out.
But it also said that it was keeping options open. As well as cancelling many flights, the airline has suspended bookings for flights in the next fortnight.
The struggling airline had to delay by a fortnight payment of June salaries and incentives to its 31,500 employees.
The protest comes as airlines around the world try to cope with declining passenger traffic due to the global slowdown.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 08:56 GMT, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 09:56 UK
Six jailed for Vietnam baby fraud
Six Vietnamese have been sentenced to jail for arranging more than 300 fraudulent adoptions, an official said.
The six were jailed for two to four-and-a-half years for "abuse of power", court official Nguyen Tien Hung said.
Among those convicted were two heads of provincial welfare centres, doctors, nurses and local officials.
They were found to have filed false papers to allow babies from poor families to be adopted, many by parents in France, Italy and the US.
Ten other people received suspended sentences of 15 to 18 months.
They came from the province of Nam Dinh, south of Hanoi.
The falsified papers said the babies had been abandoned, making them eligible for adoption by foreign parents, the prosecutors said.
The group was operating from 2005 to July 2008, when the two key suspects were arrested.
The case came to light last year after the US embassy in Hanoi accused Vietnam of failing to police its adoption system, allowing corruption, fraud and baby-selling to flourish.
The US report led Vietnam to end a bilateral adoption agreement.
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