Obama: Budget Impasse 'Damaged' US Credibility

President Barack Obama has said the budget stand-off "damaged" US credibility and "Americans are fed-up with Washington".

Mr Obama spoke from the White House hours after signing legislation that reopened the government following a 16-day partial shutdown and raised the nation's debt limit.

The last-minute deal offered only a temporary fix and did not resolve the fundamental issues of spending and deficits that divide Republicans and Democrats.

Mr Obama said: "Let's be clear, there are no winners here.

"The American people are completely fed-up with Washington."

The president said the shutdown and ensuing budget impasse "inflicted unnecessary damage" on the US economy and damaged America's credibility around the world.

Mr Obama sought to ensure governments and investors around the globe that the "full faith and credit of the United States remains unquestioned".

"We'll bounce back from this," he said. "We always do."

But the president said the way that business is done in Washington has to change.

With the Senate-led budget deal only allowing the government to function until January 15 and raising the debt ceiling only until February 7, members of Congress must still sit down to agree on a long-term budget blueprint.

Mr Obama called on leaders from both parties to work together not only on a budget proposal, but also on immigration reform and other lingering issues that continue to put congressional leaders at odds.

He said: "I understand we will not suddenly agree on everything now that the cloud of crisis has passed. Democrats and Republicans are far apart on a lot of issues.

"And sometimes we'll be just too far apart to forge an agreement. But that should not hold back our efforts in areas where we do agree."

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Syria Peace Talks Possible In November

A long-delayed Syrian peace conference could take place at the end of November, according to the country's deputy prime minister.

Qadri Jamil said the talks - which Russia and the US have been trying to organise since May - were to be held in Geneva on November 23 and 24.

"We are closer than ever to holding the Geneva-2," Mr Jamil told reporters after talks at the Russian foreign ministry, but added that the timeframe for the conference was "hypothetical".

In remarks translated from Arabic to Russian, he said there was "no alternative" to the peace conference.

"This will lead to the launch of a political process and cessation of violence," he said.

"We cannot say 'open sesame' so that the political process would immediately start."

However, the Syrian National Council, the largest group in the opposition National Coalition, said at the weekend that it would not attend the talks and would pull out of the umbrella group if any others went.

Syria's military continues to control large areas of the country

The group's leader George Sabra said he would not go to Geneva while the government of President Bashar al Assad continued to make civilians suffer.

The Syrian civil war, which is in its third year, has left more than 120,000 people dead and seven million displaced.

Rebel forces have taken control of large areas in the north of the country but remain deeply divided between Islamist jihadists and the largely secular Free Syrian Army.  

President Assad's military has also continued to bombard rebel-held communities and hold on to its bases, inflicting heavy casualties in the areas it does not control.

Meanwhile, a Canadian working with the UN peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights has been released eight months after he was reportedly captured by rebel fighters and held for ransom.

Carl Campeau, a legal adviser to the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), went missing in February. He was handed over to a United Nations representative in Syria by the foreign ministry, state television said.

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Would-Be Bank Robber Wrestled By Customer

A Good Samaritan has been hailed a hero after tackling a suspected bank robber in California with his bare hands.

Herb Pearce was queuing at Chase Bank in Fullerton when a man walked into the branch and claimed to have a gun.

"(He said), 'This is a robbery. This is a stick-up. I want all your money right now'," said Mr Pearce.

"I'm looking at this guy and thinking, 'Is (he) for real?' He had his hand in the plastic bag."

Mr Pearce said he grabbed the suspect's arm before hitting him.

"Pow, I clocked him," he said. "He went back a little bit (then) came at me again. I hit him again."

Police said 29-year-old suspect Jacob Williams was not armed and was arrested at the scene.

Sergeant Jeff Stuart, of Fullerton Police, said: "I have a feeling he would have completed a robbery, so in that effect, Mr Pearce is a hero in that he stopped a crime."

Mr Pearce, a termite exterminator, broke and fractured his hand in several places but said he had no regrets.

"I'll be darned if (someone) is going to come off the street and take my money," he said.

"I put in too many hours to get that pay cheque. So I'm not going to let him take my money."

Mr Pearce asked Chase Bank to pay his medical bills but said the bank refused because its insurance provider would not cover them.

Officers said they do not recommend customers challenge bank robbers but gave Mr Pearce credit for his actions.

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Up To 30m People 'Live As Modern-Day Slaves'

Some 30 million people around the world are living as so-called modern-day slaves, according to an inaugural report by the Walk Free Foundation.

The Global Slavery Index 2013 reveals African and Asian countries have the highest numbers of slaves and the highest proportion according to population density.

Britain, Ireland and Iceland are placed joint bottom in the prevalence table of 162 countries.

While Iceland is believed to have fewer than 100 slaves, Britain is understood to have up to 4,600.

The study defines slavery as the possession or control of people to deny freedom and exploit them for profit or sex, usually through violence, coercion or deception.

Aysha was forced to work as a prostitute in her home of Uzbekistan

It includes practices such as debt-bondage, forced marriage, forced begging, human trafficking, forced labour and the abduction of children to serve in war.

The report said: "Today some people are still being born into hereditary slavery, a staggering but harsh reality, particularly in parts of west Africa and south Asia.

"Other victims are captured or kidnapped before being sold or kept for exploitation, whether through marriage, unpaid labour on fishing boats, or as domestic workers.

"Others are tricked and lured into situations they cannot escape, with false promises of a good job or an education."

Forced labour workers on a penal colony near Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

Almost half of the world's slaves are in India, where bonded labour in quarries and kilns and commercial sex exploitation is widespread.

The report reveals some 10 countries alone account for three quarters of the world's slaves.

After India, China has the most with 2.9 million, followed by Pakistan (2.1 million), Nigeria (701,000), Ethiopia (651,000), Russia (516,000), Thailand (473,000), Democratic Republic of Congo (462,000), Myanmar (384,000) and Bangladesh (343,000).

When ranked by prevalence of slavery per head of population, Mauritania ranks highest with almost 4% of its 3.8 million people reported to be enslaved, though estimates by other organisations put the level at up to 20%.

Two children rescued from a child-marriage ceremony in Pakistan

Chattel slavery is common in Mauritania, meaning that slave status is passed down through generations, with 'owners' buying, renting or giving away their slaves as gifts.

After Mauritania, slavery is most prevalent by population in Haiti, where a system of child labour known as "restavek" encourages poor families to send their children to wealthier acquaintances, where many end up exploited and abused.

Nick Grono from the Walk Free Foundation said the annual index would serve as an important baseline for governments and activists in the anti-slavery fight.

"This kind of data hasn't been out there before," he said.

"It's a multi-year effort, and next year we'll have a much better picture of where slavery is and what changes there are."

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Madeleine McCann: 500 Calls From Germany

German broadcaster ZDF has received 500 phone calls and emails after airing a programme on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Madeleine's parents launched an appeal for information to help them find their daughter on the television show "Aktenzeichen XY ungeloest," Germany's version of BBC's Crimewatch programme.

Some 7.26 million people watched the show, its highest rating in 15 years.

E-fit images of a man police want to talk to in connection with the case

The missing girl's mother Kate McCann told the programme: "Please have the compassion and courage to tell us what happened to her."

It is not known how many of the 500 tip-offs will prove useful to police, who received 150 phone calls from the public after a similar appeal was aired on Dutch television.

Officers at Scotland Yard said they received the calls after the appeal was broadcast on the crime programme Opsporing Verzocht.

Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry said they were "absolutely delighted" with the "overwhelming" response to the new appeal for information about their daughter's disappearance which first featured on Crimewatch.

Following a similar appeal on Norway's TV2 channel, a Norwegian woman claimed to have seen a girl resembling Madeleine with a strange man when she was on holiday in Spain two years ago.

Detectives have released two e-fit images of a man they want to speak to in connection with the case based on the accounts of two witnesses.

Both described seeing him in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of the three-year-old's disappearance on May 3, 2007.

:: Madeleine: The New Investigation, Friday at 7.30pm on Sky News

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Air Pollution 'Leading Cause of Cancer'

Outdoor air pollution is the leading cause of cancer, a World Health Organisation agency has revealed.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said that in 2010, 223,000 deaths from lung cancer worldwide resulted from air pollution, also pointing out there was also convincing evidence it increases the risk of bladder cancer.

Air pollution, mostly caused by transport, power generation, industrial or agricultural emissions, and residential heating and cooking, is already known to raise risks for a wide range of illnesses including respiratory and heart diseases.

The average annual deaths per 1,000 sq km due to air pollution (see below)

Kurt Straif, of the IARC, said: "The air we breathe has become polluted with a mixture of cancer-causing substances.

"We now know that outdoor air pollution is not only a major risk to health in general, but also a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths."

Research suggests that in recent years exposure levels have risen significantly in some parts of the world - particularly countries with large populations going through rapid industrialisation such as China.

In a statement, IARC said both outdoor air pollution and "particulate matter" would not be classified among its Group One human carcinogens.

That puts them alongside more than 100 other known cancer-causing substances, including asbestos, plutonium, ultraviolet radiation and tobacco smoke.

IARC director Christopher Wild said the decision to classify outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic was an important step to alerting governments to its dangers and potential costs.

He said: "There are effective ways to reduce air pollution and, given the scale of the exposure affecting people worldwide, this report should send a strong signal to the international community to take action."

It comes after the head of the Vatican Museums warned he will be forced to limit the number of visitors to the Sistine Chapel if new air conditioning and purification systems does not significantly reduce pollution levels.

Antonio Paolucci said he was confident the new system, which is expected to be completed at the end of 2014, would curb the dust, humidity and carbon dioxide that is dulling Michelangelo's masterpiece.

:: The diagram above shows the model estimate of the average annual number of deaths per 1,000 square kilometres due to air pollution. Using the difference in pollution levels between 1850 and 2000, dark brown areas have more premature deaths, while blue areas experienced an improvement in air quality and a decline in premature deaths.

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Outrage Over China's Plans For Mao's Birthday

More than $2.5bn (£1.6bn) is being spent on events to mark the 120th anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong, to the fury of many Chinese citizens.

The money is being directed towards Mao's birthplace of Shaoshan, where a tourist information centre will be renovated and his former residence restored, according to the Changsha Evening News.

High-speed rail stations and new highways will also be built to impress the expected influx of visitors.

Authorities in Xiangtan, which includes Shaoshan, defended the spending plans, telling China's Global Times newspaper that the commemoration's importance "overrides any other at the moment".

However, Chinese internet users have criticised the sum of money the city plans to spend - far greater than originally planned - more than 37 years after Mao's death.

Mao memorabilia remains popular throughout China

One poster on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter, said: "How much money does it cost to deal with pollution? How much does it cost to provide medical insurance? How much to offer students from poor districts free lunch?

"I can't believe they're spending this much money on a dead man, a controversial dead man."

Another user added: "Xiangtan's economy is not doing well and a lot of people have been laid off by state-owned enterprises. And they spent so lavishly! I am so "proud" of them. Who are those Xiangtan officials really serving?"

The comments highlight the thorny issue of such lavish outlays in China.

Although the government has launched an austerity campaign, banning banquets and other indulgences, it came under fire earlier this month after building a 70m yuan (£7m) viewing tower in the shape of a giant puffer fish.

The enormous puffer fish has been built on an island in Jiangsu province

The spending plans are part of a broader commemoration of the Mao anniversary in China.

The late leader's legacy is often associated in the West with events such as China's Great Leap Forward, when tens of millions died through famine, as well as the Cultural Revolution.

However in China, his supporters focus on Mao's earlier revolutionary years, his role in the 1949 founding of the People's Republic and his nationalistic stance.

Jeffrey Wasserstrom, professor of history at the University of California Irvine, said the 120th anniversary will see an effort to put Mao "into a context as the person who began China's resurgence to world-power status, as opposed to what the Western associations with Mao often now are".

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Central Park Rapist Jailed Over Pensioner Attack

A 73-year-old woman who was raped twice in New York's Central Park has faced her attacker in court and accused him of being an "evil infestation".

David Albert Mitchell pounced on his victim from behind in September 2012 as she was birdwatching in a quiet area of the park known as Strawberry Fields.

After threatening to slit her throat Mitchell raped her twice, broke one of her fingers when she tried to gouge his eyes out, and smashed one of her teeth, before he snatched her camera and escaped.

Mitchell was caught after being spotted on CCTV as he left the park

As he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, the woman said to him: "You, David Albert Mitchell, for the pain you inflicted on me and, by association, my loving family and friends, may you rot in hell for all eternity.

"Make no mistake: This is a sexual terrorist," the woman added, urging a judge "to do the right thing so that nobody else is every hurt or menaced by this evil infestation."

Mitchell, 42, was previously acquitted of raping and killing an 86-year-old woman in his hometown of Jenkinjones, West Virginia, when he was 18.

Another charge of raping a pensioner was also dropped as part of a plea deal.

After his release from prison for abducting his girlfriend, some Jenkinjones residents reportedly bought guns to protect themselves from Mitchell.

Mitchell and his attorneys declined to speak at his sentencing, where he showed little reaction as his victim spoke.

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Australia: Wildfires Rage In New South Wales

More than 100 wildfires are raging in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, with about 18 of them reported to be out of control.

Up to 30 properties are believed to have been destroyed in the Blue Mountains town of Springwood, although the total number is expected to rise.

No deaths or injuries have been reported so far.

Smoke from the fires is also hanging eerily over the Sydney skyline, casting an orange haze.

The fires have been caused by unseasonably hot temperatures reaching 35C, as well as strong winds which have helped spread the flames.

State premier Barry O'Farrell said: "We are unclear yet as to how many properties have been lost but it's suspected that by the time we finish counting, it'll at least be in the hundreds."

A spokesman for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said the fires were the most serious wildfire emergency in years.

In February 2009, wildfires, which are common in Australia in the warmer months, killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.

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Goa: British Man Held Over Record Drugs Haul

A British man has been arrested in the holiday resort state of Goa in what the Indian authorities have said is their biggest ever drugs seizure.

Gary Baird, 45, was arrested on Wednesday accused of illegally possessing more than four kilos of amphetamines with a street value of $330,000 (£204,300), police superintendent Karthik Kashyap said.

"The accused had come to deliver the narcotics to a customer," the police officer said, adding that the Briton, who was staying in a hotel, had visited Goa several times in recent years.

Baird was held during the raid in Aguada village, 10km (six miles) from the state capital Panaji.

Goa has been a popular destination for foreigners since the days of the hippie trail in the 1960s.

But the availability of illegal drugs and aggressive dealing around its beaches has long caused concern for authorities.

Superintendent Kashyap said amphetamines were a relatively new phenomenon in the state.

"This is the biggest seizure in the history of drug seizures by the Goa police," he said.

He added that more people are expected to be arrested.

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