Anti-Austerity Protests Turn Violent In Spain

A day of anti-austerity protests across Europe has ended in clashes between demonstrators and riot police in Madrid and Barcelona.

More than 140 people were arrested and dozens injured across the two cities, including two people who were said by police to be carrying material to make explosives.

After sporadic skirmishes through the day, the demonstrations continued into the night with fierce fighting breaking out at the tail end of rallies.

Police charged scores of protesters near the parliament building in Madrid after coming under a hail of broken bottles and stones.

Under attack near the capital's main railway station Atocha, police fired rubber bullets into the ground and air to disperse crowds. Rubbish bins were set alight and at least two shop windows were shattered.

At least one police vehicle was torched in Barcelona, and Spanish media showed images of a 13-year-old boy with his head bloodied from a beating by a riot police officer.

A protester throws a stone at police near the parliament building in Madrid

Protests also turned violent in Italy, where police used tear gas to disperse crowds.

In bailed-out Portugal, where the government intends to intensify austerity measures next year, the second general strike in eight months left commuters stranded as trains ground to a virtual halt and the Lisbon subway was shut down.

About 200 flights to and from Portugal were also cancelled, while hospitals provided only minimum services and rubbish bins were left uncollected.

Marches in 40 Portuguese cities were reportedly peaceful until nightfall when a small group of protesters threw rocks and bottles at police protecting the parliament building in Lisbon.

A police charge dispersed the protesters who fled the scene. At least five people were injured.

Airports across Europe - including Heathrow - were forced to cancel flights to and from striking nations.

Police clash with protesters in Malaga

In Spain, where one in four workers is unemployed, airlines including Iberia, Iberia Express, Air Nostrum, Vueling, Air Europa and easyJet cut more than 600 flights including some 250 international routes.

Hospitals fully staffed emergency and surgery rooms, but non-essential care was scaled back.

The country is teetering on the brink of calling for a European bailout, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy trying to put off a rescue that could require even more EU-mandated budget cuts.

Economy Minister Luis de Guindos spoke of "a long crisis that has meant sacrifice and uncertainty," but added: "The government is convinced that the path we have taken is the only possible way out."

Union-led rallies were also called across France and in Poland, while high-speed Thalys rail services between Belgium and Germany were cancelled for the day.

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Rat Massacre: Galapagos Islands To Kill Millions

Ecuador is preparing to massacre more than 180 million rats as it seeks to eradicate them from the Galapagos Islands.

A helicopter will drop nearly 22 tons of specially designed poisonous bait on Pinzon Island, an uninhabited island in the archipelago 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador and the nearby Plaza Sur islet.

It is the second stage in an offensive that aims to kill all non-native rodents across the 19 islands that helped inspire Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by 2020.

Norway and black rats were introduced by whalers and buccaneers when they reached the islands in the 17th century and now feed on the eggs and young of many of the island's native species, including giant tortoises, lava lizards, snakes, hawks and iguanas.

The rats have also depleted the plants on which many natives species feed.

"It's one of the worst problems the Galapagos have. (Rats) reproduce every three months and eat everything," Juan Carlos Gonzalez, a specialist with the Nature Conservancy, said.

"This is a very expensive but totally necessary war."

The Galapagos islands are famed for their biodiversity

On Pinzon, which is just seven square miles in area, there are 10 rats for every square metre of land.

The poisoned bait is contained in light blue cubes that attract rats but are repulsive to other inhabitants of the islands.

Thirty-four hawks from Pinzon have been captured in order to protect them from eating the poisoned rodents, while 40 iguanas on Plaza Sur were also held for their own protection.

Asked whether a large number of decomposing rats would create an environmental problem, Danny Rueda, director of conservation for the Galapagos National Park Service, said the poison was specially engineered with a strong anti-coagulant that will make the rats dry up and disintegrate in less than eight days.

The Galapagos were declared protected as a Unesco Natural Heritage site in 1978. In 2007, Unesco declared them at risk due to harm from invasive species, tourism and immigration.

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China Unveils Xi Jinping As New Leader

Who Is Xi Jinping?

Updated: 7:25am UK, Thursday 15 November 2012

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

He will lead the world's most populous nation of 1.3 billion people for the next 10 years and could be at the helm when China becomes the world's largest economy but who is Xi Jinping? And why should you care anyway?

Mr Xi is a "princeling" -  the son of one of the founding members of the Chinese Communists, Xi Zhongxun, a guerrilla commander who went on to form the party alongside Chairman Mao.

Mr Xi's father and Mao fell out. Xi Senior was tortured and placed in jail for several years.

During the Cultural Revolution - when millions of Chinese died under Mao's leadership - the Xi family were sent to live in communes as peasants along with so many others.

In recent and rare interviews Xi Jingping talks about this difficult time in his life which he refers to as a "struggle" which helped develop him into a stronger man.

Mr Xi and those around him now represent the first generation of leaders to experience first-hand the struggle of being a child through the Cultural Revolution. Many speculate that this could mould his leadership, especially in terms of how he deals with the widening gap between rich and poor in China.

After the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, Mr Xi moved back to Beijing to continue his education. He was educated into Communist Party and quickly rose through the ranks, first in Hebei Province and then in Fujian Province.

In 2000 he was made governor of Fujian Province followed by acting governor of Zhejiang in 2002. He built economies in those two provinces which have become larger than both Hong Kong and Taiwan.

He has a daughter who studies at Harvard and a wife who is more famous than he is.

Peng Liyuan is a folk singer, fluent in English and a Major-General in the People's Liberation Army. She is, by all accounts, a beautiful woman - her name even means "beautious beauty".

Ms Peng will be far more of an American-style first lady when compared with her elderly and reclusive predecessor, Hu Jintao's wife.

In public, Mr Xi also contrasts with his stiff and formal predecessor. He is a charismatic and a relaxed public speaker.

He is well travelled too, having lived in the United States for a short time as a young man. In recent years, in preparation for his rise to the very top, he's been to a number of Western capitals.

Mr Xi's inner thoughts, aspirations for his country's direction and attitude towards the West are not widely known.

A comment he made on a 2010 visit to Mexico is often used as an example of his true colours.

"Foreigners with full bellies, and nothing better to do than point fingers at China. China does not export revolution, or famine, or poverty or mess around with other countries. So what else is there to say," he said.

But his first speech to the media on Thursday as leader was more conciliatory.

"Just as China needs to learn more about the world, so does the world need to learn more about China," he said.

However, despite all that, walk down any street in Beijing and you'll find the Chinese know very little about their new leader. And in the West it would not be an embarrassment to admit to not having ever heard of the man.

The reason for this is simple. China operates what can be called a black-box system of government. It is a system closed to its subjects. It is extremely hard to see how it operates and who is pulling the levers.

The Communist Party runs or contributes to almost every facet of life in China. Its 80 million or so members make it the largest political party in the world. And yet China is so large, they represent just 6% of the country's population.

It is that 6% who have some say over who in community rises up each of the thousands of different party organisations.

With a pyramid effect fewer and fewer people endorse those who will sit above them - and that is why very few people know who Mr Xi is, what he is like, what he stands for and in what direction he will take the world's most populous nation.

Reform is the buzzword for China's next 10 years. Many had believed that following the country's economic reforms in the 1990s, political and social reform would come under Mr Hu and Mr Wen. It didn't happen.

China is now at a crossroads. Past Chinese leaders have lifted the country economically beyond all expectations; it is now the world's second wealthiest country.

But its economic explosion coupled with a downturn in exports to the West has produced a long list of explosive problems.

The wealth gap is wider than ever. Corruption is rife. The cities are the most polluted in the world. Factory production is slowing. Now mix all that in with an increasingly restive population which is more technologically connected and geographically mobile than ever: this is the China Xi Jinping must lead.

He has never really revealed whether he is just a moderniser or a genuine reformer. The direction he chooses will determine China's fate.

And remember, China's fate matters to the West.

China has holdings of more than $1trn (£631bn) of US debt. It is buying up Western companies and increasingly Western companies are investing in China.

If further reform comes, think of the opportunities which could help lift the West out of economic crisis.

But if China crashes, it could bring the rest of us down with it.

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Bon Jovi's Daughter 'Overdoses On Heroin'

The daughter of US rock star Jon Bon Jovi has been charged with drug possession after apparently overdosing on heroin at her college.

Stephanie Bongiovi, 19, was taken to hospital after being found unconscious by an ambulance crew in a dormitory room at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

Bongiovi, from Red Bank, New Jersey, is now recovering at the unnamed facility, said police investigator Peter Cania.

Emergency services were alerted after a report that a female had overdosed in Dunham Hall, the school's largest dorm.

Officers sent to the dorm initially found a small amount of heroin and arrested Ian Grant, 21, also of Red Bank and a Hamilton student.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for the dorm and found heroin, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, leading to Bongiovi's arrest.

Mr Cania would not say whether the search involved her room.

Bongiovi is facing charges of possession of a controlled substance (heroin), marijuana possession and criminal use of drug paraphernalia.

Police said Grant, who was in the same room as Bongiovi, was also charged with possessing a controlled substance (heroin).

Both were ordered to appear in court at a later date.

Representatives of 50-year-old Bon Jovi declined to comment.

Hamilton College also declined to comment on the arrests but said it was cooperating with the police investigation.

Bon Jovi, who also has three sons, is scheduled to perform at a concert to benefit Hamilton's scholarships and arts programmes in Times Square, New York, on December 5.

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Doctor Charged Over Car Crash Caught On CCTV

A one-time doctor of the year has pleaded not guilty to driving whilst drunk and under the influence of prescription drugs after a dramatic crash.

CCTV shows Dr Kristin Lynes Howard's car speeding from a supermarket car park, over the central reservation and into oncoming vehicles, smashing into a car and a lorry.

A 78-year-old man reportedly required hospital treatment for cracked ribs.

Howard blames a mechanical malfunction. Pic: 7News WSVN.com

Howard, 56, denied a variety of charges when she appeared in court in connection with Friday's crash in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Authorities say Howard prescribed herself drugs. Police say she told them her car had a mechanical malfunction.

A spokeswoman for Newton-Wellesley Hospital where Howard works as an emergency medical physician, said she has been "relieved of her duties".

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Belize: 'Bonkers' McAfee Urged To Contact Police

The prime minister of Belize has urged software company founder John McAfee to hand himself in to the authorities for questioning in relation to the death of his neighbour.

Mr McAfee went on the run after fellow American Gregory Faull, 52, was shot on the Caribbean island where they both lived.

Belize police have said he is a "person of interest" and prime minister Dean Barrow reiterated that he is only wanted for questioning.

But Mr Barrow also expressed doubts about the 67-year-old's mental state: "I don't want to be unkind to the gentleman, but I believe he is extremely paranoid, even bonkers."

It is understood Mr McAfee, who denies killing Mr Faull, has changed his appearance by dyeing his hair, eyebrows and beard and moustache black.

"I have modified my appearance in a radical fashion," he was quoted as saying by Wired magazine on Wednesday. "I'll probably look like a murderer, unfortunately."

Mr McAfee told The Associated Press from an undisclosed location that he had differences with the dead man.

"I barely knew him, I barely spoke 10 words to him in the last three years," Mr McAfee said, speaking on a mobile phone. "Certainly he was not my favourite person and I was not his.

"He was a heavy drinker and an annoyance. But the world is full of annoyances; if we killed all of our annoyances, there would be nobody left."

A Facebook page showing pictures of John McAfee

Other expat residents of the island of Ambergris Caye have described Mr Faull, the owner of a construction business in Orlando, Florida, as peaceful and well-liked.

The dispute apparently involved several dogs that Mr McAfee kept at his beachside villa and that drew complaints from neighbours.

Mr McAfee said four of his dogs were poisoned late last week but that he did not initially suspect Mr Faull of having killed them, although he knew he did not like the animals.

"He did threaten to shoot them once or twice," Mr McAfee said, adding that his neighbour was "always angry at them".

But he said he now believes government agents or police poisoned the dogs.

Mr Faull's body was discovered by a housekeeper on Sunday. He had been shot in the head but there was no sign of a break-in.

Police raided Mr McAfee's mansion that day to question him about the murder.

Earlier in the year, police searched the property for weapons and drugs, and detained him for several hours.

Mr McAfee sold his stake in the company that is named after him in the early 1990s and moved to Belize about three years ago to reduce his tax bill.

He told The New York Times in 2009 that he had lost all but $4m (£2.5m) of his $100m (£63m) fortune in the US financial crisis.

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FBI Agent Who Began Petraeus Probe Is Named

The FBI agent who began the investigation that led to David Petraeus' resignation is a veteran counterterrorism expert who helped foil a millennium terror plot in Los Angeles.

Frederick Humphries, 47, was the agent who initially saw the emails that Gen Petraeus' biographer, Paula Broadwell, sent to Tampa socialite Jill Kelley.

Ms Broadwell apparently saw Mrs Kelley as a rival for the former CIA director's affections.

But Agent Humphries thought the emails raised more serious concerns because they detailed the comings and goings of Gen Petraeus and General John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan.

The first anonymous email warning Gen Allen to stay away from Mrs Kelley was sent in May, under the pseudonym "Kelleypatrol."

Gen Allen forwarded it to Mrs Kelley, who then got in touch with her FBI acquaintance. 

Jill Kelley pictured with her surgeon husband Scott Kelley in 2007

Agent Humphries - who played a key role in stopping a terrorist attack aimed at blowing up Los Angeles International Airport just as the year 2000 dawned - has now found his own conduct under review.

The FBI is reviewing a telephone call he made in late October to Republican Congressman Dave Reichert to voice concern that the bureau was not aggressively pursuing a possible national security breach.

Lawrence Berger, the general counsel for the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, said Humphries did nothing wrong.

"He's committed no misconduct," Mr Berger said and predicted he would be cleared of any allegation.

Gen. John Allen remains in his post at the head of US forces in Afghanistan

Questions were also raised about the fact that, sometime before this investigation, Agent Humphries had sent jokey photos of himself shirtless to Mrs Kelley.

Over the summer, he was warned by his superiors to steer clear of the developing case because they had concerns he had become too personally involved.

Meanwhile, the backlash for the two women caught up in the scandal continues.

Mrs Kelley's pass to enter MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, where she met the two senior generals, has been indefinitely suspended.

Paula Broadwell's security clearance has also been revoked. As a former army intelligence officer, she had high security clearance.

Officials who have seen the communications between Gen Allen and Jill Kelley described some of the emails as "suggestive".

They said their release would be embarrassing.

Gen Allen has been allowed to keep his job as US commander of the Afghan war for the time being.

But his nomination to become the next commander of US European Command as well as the Nato supreme allied commander in Europe is now on hold.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said "No one should leap to any conclusions" about him.

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Ibrahimovic Goal Was Best Ever, Says Gerrard

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's wonder goal in Sweden's 4-2 win against England has been hailed as one of the best ever.

The Swedish captain's amazing overhead kick from 25 yards drew a standing ovation from his team's dug-out in the friendly in Stockholm.

Ibrahimovic, 31, performed the outrageous bicycle shot in injury time after England goalkeeper Joe Hart found himself stranded.

It was his fourth goal in the game but the striker insisted it was not his finest match for his country, saying he had played better on many other occasions.

When asked how he would mark his international career out of 10 he had no hesitation. "10," he replied.

England captain Steven Gerrard may have been making his 100th appearance for his country but it was Ibrahimovic who stole the headlines.

Gerrard himself said it was the best goal he had ever seen in person, while fellow England star Rio Ferdinand tweeted: "What a goal Ibra. Zlatan just silenced any doubters he had...ruthless tonight."

So how does his wonder shot rank among the greatest goals ever scored?

Maradona pictured performing his wonder goal against England

Maradona's goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals saw him run with the ball for 62 metres, touch it 13 times and beat five opposing players before firing home.

Lionel Messi scored a similar goal for Barcelona against Getafe in the semi-final of the Spanish Cup in 2007.

Lionel Messi pictured during the match against Getafe

Rivaldo completed a hat-trick for Barcelona when he took the ball on his chest and scored with an overhead kick into the right hand corner against Valencia in 2001.

Rivaldo scored a hat-trick for Barcelona

Carlos Alberto's strike for Brazil against Italy in the 1970 World Cup final is considered one of the greatest goals ever scored in the history of the tournament.

Carlos Alberto helped win the World Cup for Brazil in 1970

The Brazilians gave a brilliant display of one-touch football before Alberto hammered the ball in.

Dutchman Marco van Basten's sublime right foot volley against the USSR in the Euro 1988 final is also up there among the best.

Marco van Basten produced a sublime right foot volley

Ranking alongside it is his fellow countryman Dennis Bergkamp's amazing touch as he deftly controlled a 50-yard pass to knock the ball in the top left hand corner in a match against Argentina in 1998.

Bergkamp showed off a classy finish against Argentina

Football fans also rave about Zinedine Zidane's winning goal in the Champions League final for Real Madrid against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.

The Frenchman's exquisite left-foot volley from Roberto Carlos' cross zoomed straight into the top of the net.

Zinedine Zidane's winning goal for Real Madrid

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Gaza Violence: Hague Condemns Hamas Attacks

Foreign Secretary William Hague has said the militant group Hamas bears the "principal responsibility" for the spiralling violence between Gaza and southern Israel.

Mr Hague condemned rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza today and said he is "gravely concerned" about the escalation of tension.

Three people were killed in the Israeli town of Kiryat Malahi when a rocket hit an apartment block.

The casualties were the first since Israel's airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday which killed Hamas' top military commander.

The Israeli army said a rocket also struck a southern suburb of Tel Aviv - by far the farthest strike by Gaza militants in recent days.

Mr Hague said Hamas should stop attacking southern Israel immediately and called on Israel to do its utmost to reduce tension and avoid civilian casualties.

"It is imperative to avoid a spiral of violence. The escalation of this conflict would be in no one's interest, particularly at a time of instability in the region," he said.

The head of Hamas' military wing Ahmed al Jaabari who was killed

Other world leaders have urged Israel to show restraint after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to "expand" military operations in Gaza following the killing of Ahmed al Jaabari.

He has said Israel will take whatever action necessary to protect its people.

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi has rejected what he called Israel's aggression in Gaza, saying it threatened to destabilise the region.

Egypt's Islamist administration, which has close ties with the Hamas movement, recalled its ambassador on Wednesday in protest at the Israeli action.

US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have both telephoned Mr Netanyahu ahead of an urgent UN Security Council meeting on the deteriorating situation.

According to the White House, Mr Obama reiterated US support for Israel's right to self-defence against rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip but urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties in the Palestinian territory.

They agreed that Hamas must stop the attacks, which have seen hundreds of rockets fired into Israel over the last five days, in order to allow tensions to ease.

Mr Ban told the Israeli PM of his expectation that "Israeli reactions are measured so as not to provoke a new cycle of bloodshed," the UN said.

A car destroyed by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants

He also expressed his concerns about "an alarming escalation of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel".

So far, at least 15 people, including Mr Jaabari, have been killed in more than 50 Israeli airstrikes - codenamed Operation Pillar Of Defence. Two young children were also among the dead.

The Israeli military is ready, if necessary, to send ground troops into Gaza, according to its official Twitter account. It has also been authorised to call up army reserve units.

In a televised address, Mr Netanyahu said: "If it becomes necessary, we are prepared to expand the operation.

"We will not tolerate a situation in which Israeli citizens are threatened by rocket fire."

Defence minister Ehud Barak, appearing with the prime minister, said: "We are at the beginning of the event, and not the end."

Palestinian militants said the airstrikes had opened "the gates of hell" for the Jewish state.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said another 55 rockets had been fired at Israel in the aftermath of the airstrike that killed Mr Jaabari.

Gaza's Hamas government welcomed the decision of Egypt, one of only two Arab countries to have a peace treaty with Israel, to pull out its envoy and urged Arab leaders to take "decisive action".

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said: "The occupation committed a dangerous crime and crossed all the red lines, which is considered a declaration of war."

The emergency Security Council meeting came at the request of Egypt, Morocco and the Palestinians.

"Once again the international community is witness to Israel's malicious onslaught, using the most lethal military means and illegal measures against the defenceless Palestinian civilian population," the Palestinian Authority's UN envoy, Riyad Mansour, told the Council.

"A direct firm message must be sent to Israel to cease immediately its military campaign against the Palestinian people and to abide ... by its obligations under international law."

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BP To Pay £2.8bn Over Gulf Of Mexico Disaster

BP has agreed to pay £2.8bn to US authorities over six years to settle claims relating to the Deepwater Horizon spill.

The oil firm announced that it has reached an agreement with the United States government - subject to court approval - to resolve all federal criminal charges against the company.

Eleven workers were killed in the April 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig.

The subsequent uncontrolled discharge of crude oil lasted nearly three months and about 200m gallons of oil flowed into the Gulf from the blown-out Macondo well.

The rig was located in water more than 5,000ft deep, and the spill caused widespread environmental damage.

More follows...

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