Nepal's Colonel Kumar Lama Held After Court Appearance

Colonel Kumar Lama is accused of committing the alleged crimes in Nepal during the country's civil war in 2005.

The 46-year-old, currently seconded to the UN, was arrested at his East Sussex home by the Met Police on Thursday. He faces trial in Britain under a law that allows prosecution of alleged war criminals.

Col Lama spoke once to confirm his identity at the hearing, where he was charged with intentionally "inflicting severe pain or suffering" as a public official on two separate individuals.

The offenses are thought to have taken place between April and May 2005 and April and October 2005 at the Gorusinghe Army Barracks in Kapilvastu, Nepal.

Protest note

Col Lama's arrest in St Leonards-on-Sea near Hastings has angered the Nepalese government, who have requested Col Lama's immediate release. They have summoned the UK ambassador in Kathmandu to protest and instructed the Nepalese embassy in London to submit a protest note to Downing Street.

Two diplomats from the Nepalese embassy were at Westminster Magistrates for the short hearing.

Col Lama is currently employed as a UN peace keeper in South Sudan. He was due to return to Africa on Saturday after a Christmas break to the UK, but was arrested on 3 January.

The court heard the colonel had previously served as a UN peacekeeper in Sierra Leone and twice in Lebanon. District Judge Quentin Purdy ordered the 46-year-old to remain in custody before he appears at the Old Bailey in London on 24 January.

 

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US Cool on Google's Eric Schmidt Visiting North Korea

  

The reason for the trip has not yet been revealed, but reports say it is part of a humanitarian mission led by US politician Bill Richardson. State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: "We don't think the timing of this is particularly helpful."

Ms Nuland added that Mr Schmidt and Mr Richardson were "well aware" of the US government's views.
Mr Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico, has been involved in ad-hoc negotiations with the North Koreans in the last 20 years and has helped in securing the release of US nationals detained by Pyongyang.

Last month, North Korea arrested a US citizen of Korean origin, Pae Jun Ho, for unspecified alleged crimes.

 Google is present in neighboring China, where it was involved in lengthy negotiations over internet access before it effectively shut down its Chinese search engine in 2010.


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Fiscal Cliff US Urged to Tackle Budget Deficit

The warning comes despite the US narrowly agreeing a deal to stave off the US "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax rises worth $600bn (£370bn).

Rating agency Moody's said lawmakers would need to take additional steps to lower the ballooning budget deficit.
Rival agency Standard and Poor's added: "Washington's governance and policymaking had become less stable."
S&P added that the deal had done nothing to put the finances of the US on a more sustainable footing.
The deficit has topped $1tn in each of the past four years. Moody's said that if the US failed to cut the deficit, the government's top

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Pakistan Militant Mullah Nazir 'Killed in Drone Attack'

Senior Pakistani militant leader Mullah Nazir has been killed by a US drone strike, security officials say.

He died with at least five fighters when two missiles struck his vehicle in the north-west tribal district of South Waziristan, they said.

He was the leader of one of four major militant factions in Pakistan, accused of sending fighters to back the Afghan Taliban and fight foreign troops there.

Mullah Nazir is one of the most high-profile insurgents killed by drones. He had survived a suicide bomb attack blamed on rival militants in November.

Wednesday night's drone strike targeted him as he and his fighters prepared to swap to a new vehicle after his pick-up developed a fault, reports said. It took place in Angoor Adda, near South Waziristan's main town of Wana, close to the Afghan border.

Reports say Mullah Nazir's deputy, Ratta Khan, was also killed in the attack.

 Officials also said four militants were killed in a separate attack in North Waziristan, but their identities are not known.

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BBC News - US Senate passes 'fiscal cliff' deal to avoid tax rises

The bill, which raises taxes for the wealthy, came after lengthy talks between Vice-President Joe Biden and Senate Republicans.
The House is due to consider it later. Spending cuts have been delayed for two months to allow a wider agreement.
Congress missed the deadline to pass a bill, but few effects will be felt as Tuesday is a US public holiday.
Tax cuts approved during the presidency of George W Bush formally expired at midnight (05:00 GMT).


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Phillippines Contraception Law Signed by President Benigno Aquino

Supporters say the law, which took 14 years to pass, will reduce poverty and maternal mortality in a country with the highest birth rate in the region.

The Roman Catholic Church repeatedly tried to block the bill.

The country's Congress failed to pass the measure several times before giving it final approval on 19 December.

The law is due to take effect in mid-January, said presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte.

"The passage into law of the Responsible Parenthood Act closes a highly divisive chapter of our history - a chapter borne of the convictions of those who argued for, or against this act," she said.

 

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FRENCH 75% INCOME TAX STRUCK DOWN BY CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL

Raising taxes for those earning more than 1m euros (£817,400) has been a flagship policy for Mr Hollande.

The policy angered France's business community and prompted some wealthy citizens to say they would emigrate.

Mr Hollande's government said it would rework the tax, due to take effect in 2013, to meet the council's complaints.

In its ruling on Saturday, the Constitutional Council said the new tax rate "failed to recognise equality before public burdens" because, unlike other forms of income tax, it was to be applied to individuals rather than households.

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China Approves Tighter Rules on Internet Access

China has tightened its rules on internet usage to enforce a previous requirement that users fully identify themselves to service providers. The move is part of a package of measures which state-run Xinhua news agency said would protect personal information. But critics believe the government is trying to limit freedom of speech.

The announcement will be seen as evidence China's new leadership views the internet as a threat. The Chinese authorities closely monitor internet content that crosses its borders and regularly block sensitive stories through use of what is known as the Great Firewall of China.  However, it has not stopped hundreds of millions of Chinese using the internet, many of them using micro-blogging sites to expose, debate and campaign on issues of national interest.

In recent months, the internet and social media have been used to orchestrate mass protests and a number of corrupt Communist Party officials have been exposed by individuals posting criticisms on the internet.


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WINE'S SWEET HISTORY

In his new book, Inventing Wine: A New History of One of the World's Most Ancient Pleasures, Paul Lukacs writes that the wine we drink today is radically different from what people drank in ancient times.

His chronology touches on pivotal moments in wine's history from its invention 8,000 years ago, to the globalised industry of today. But Lukacs contends that the reason people drink wine has never changed. It's all about pleasure.

BBC News met Paul Lukacs at The Wine Bistro in Baltimore, Maryland to talk about his new history of an ancient indulgence. Produced for the BBC by Leigh Paterson; camera by Peter Murtaugh.

DELHI RAPE VICTIM'S CONDITION "DETERIORATES"

A female student gang-raped on a bus in India's capital Delhi has "taken a turn for the worse" at a Singapore hospital, doctors say.

The 23-year-old arrived in Singapore on Thursday after undergoing three operations in a Delhi hospital.
"Her vital signs are deteriorating with signs of severe organ failure," hospital official Kelvin Loh said. The attack earlier this month triggered violent public protests in India that left one police officer dead.

Six men have been arrested and two police officers have been suspended following the 16 December attack.
Doctors had earlier described the woman as "fighting for her life".

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Putin signs Russian Ban on US Adoptions

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a ban on Americans adopting Russian orphans.

The law is a reaction to the US Magnitsky Act, which blacklists Russian officials accused of rights abuses. The death of anti- corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 became a symbol of the fight against corruption in Russia, and soured relations between Russia and the US.

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