U.S.-born al Qaeda spokesman slams Pakistan, Afghanistan in video

(CNN) -- The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan serve only the interests of the United States and its allies and not of the local Muslim populations, an American-born al Qaeda spokesman said in a new video purportedly from the organization.

The spokesman, Adam Gadahn, expressed condolences on behalf of al Qaeda for the loss of life in the devastating floods that hit Pakistan recently. Millions of Muslims spent Ramadan without a home because of the floods and the war, he said.

"Some of them are refugees because of the devastating floods resulting from the extraordinarily heavy monsoon rains, while others are refugees from the military operations launched by the crusader army and its helpers and proxies throughout the region," Gadahn said.

CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the 7-minute video, posted on websites known to carry such messages in the past. In it, Gadahn speaks in English; the video features Arabic subtitles.

Citizens of Afghanistan and Pakistan must change the way their countries are governed, he said.

CNN

U.N.: Sanctions against Sierra Leone lifted

(CNN) -- The United Nations Security Council has ended sanctions against Sierra Leone, restrictions originally imposed during the nation's brutal civil war, the Security Council announced Wednesday.

The Council ended a 1997 arms embargo and a travel ban among other sanctions, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in the West African nation.

While the Security Council praised Sierra Leone for its progress since the end of the decade-long conflict in 2002, it maintained the need for peacekeepers in the formerly war-torn nation.

"Sierra Leone may today no longer be one of your most critical concerns," said Michael von der Schulenburg, head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone. "But we urge you not to abandon Sierra Leone completely. It is a potential success story, not only for Sierra Leone but for the Security Council".

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice commended the decision to end sanctions.

CNN

Kids seized in Nigeria all locals, police say

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- Police in Nigeria have confirmed that the 15 schoolchildren whisked away by kidnappers earlier this week were all Nigerian nationals.

Four gunmen boarded a school bus carrying the nursery and primary school children from Abayi International School in southeastern Nigeria's Abia state and took the children away.

There were questions as to whether the youths were foreigners because they attended the international school. Police are not releasing the identities of the kids, and don't know their whereabouts.

The kidnappers contacted the children's school, located near the city of Aba and demanded 20 million naira, or around $130,000.

Just after the incident, authorities said the bus driver and the school teacher who were on board were in police custody and helping security forces.

Abia state is often referred to as the "kidnapping capital" of Nigeria since abductions occur there on a weekly basis.

Schools, banks and businesses have closed in the area because of the rampant insecurity and dangers posed by kidnappers.

The problem began after armed youths began to attack oil facilities and kidnap expatriate oil workers in Nigeria's southern oil-producing region.

CNN

12 dead in Mexican landslide

Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- A landslide in southern Mexico left 12 dead and 14 injured, the state-run Notimex news agency reported, citing civil protection officials. Four people were also reported missing.

The landslide happened Wednesday in the town of Amatan, in the state of Chiapas. President Felipe Calderon confirmed the 12 fatalities on his Twitter account.

News of the landslide follows another similar incident in nearby Oaxaca state, where hundreds were feared trapped, but rescuers found that only 11 people were missing and none had been confirmed dead.

CNN

Ijaz Butt withdraws England allegations

(CNN) -- Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt has formally apologized for accusations he made against the England cricket team earlier this month.

In a joint statement, released on behalf of Butt and his England counterpart Gilles Clarke, Butt revealed he wished to withdraw the remarks he made after the one-day international between the two sides at The Oval on September 17.

The statement, published on the England and Wales Cricket Board official website, stated: "It is regrettable that there was a misunderstanding arising from my comments.

"I would like to make it quite clear that in the statements which I made that I never intended to question the behavior and integrity of the England players nor the ECB -- nor to suggest that any of them were involved in any corrupt practices or in a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket.

CNN

Analysts: Europe plot reveals al Qaeda adapting

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A deadly plan uncovered by Western intelligence services to attack targets across Europe could indicate a change in tactics by al Qaeda, security analysts say.

German intelligence officials say much of the information about the plot has come from a German citizen with suspected links to al Qaeda who was detained in Kabul in July and handed over to U.S. forces.

The officials say he has spoken of a plan similar to the 2008 assault on the Indian city of Mumbai and had told interrogators the plan had the blessing of Osama bin Laden.

In that attack, spread over three days, more than 160 people were killed as 10 men attacked and occupied a number of prominent buildings including the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Oberoi-Trident hotels, the city's Victoria Terminus train station, and the Jewish cultural center, Chabad House.

India blamed the attacks on the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a Pakistan-based terror group allied with al Qaeda.

With al Qaeda struggling to replicate attacks on the scale of the devastation witnessed on September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington, security experts believe the Mumbai attack, which gained worldwide publicity, may provide the template for its future operations.

CNN

U.S. adds more sanctions against Iran for human rights abuses

Washington (CNN) -- Citing "mounting evidence" of repression of the Iranian opposition, the Obama administration added more sanctions against Iranian government officials, members of the Revolutionary Guards Corps and others accused by the United States of being responsible for human rights abuses.

The sanctions, announced Wednesday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, block the assets of, and prohibit U.S. citizens from engaging in any business with, those on the list, which includes the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, the country's prosecutor general, and the ministers of welfare and intelligence.

"On these officials' watch or under their command Iranian citizens have been arbitrarily, beaten, tortured, raped, blackmailed and killed," Clinton said. "Yet the Iranian government has ignored repeated calls from the international community to end these abuses, to hold to account those responsible, and respect the rights and fundamental freedoms of its citizens".

"Today we declare our solidarity with their victims and with all Iranians who wish for a government that respects their human rights and their dignity and their freedom," she said.

Geithner emphasized the measures would not harm the whole country, rather the sanctions were designed to target those who engage in behavior that harms the Iranian people.

CNN

Senate panel questions Scotland's release of Pan Am bomber

Washington (CNN) -- The release of convicted Pan Am Flight 103 bomber Abdelbeset al-Megrahi from a Scottish prison last year was a "grievous mistake," a U.S. senator said Wednesday.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, apologized for "inconveniencing those who would rather sweep this under the bin," but said he wanted to shed light on the "troubling circumstances" surrounding al-Megrahi's release by the Scottish government last year on the grounds that he had cancer and was not likely to live more than three more months.

Al-Megrahi is the only person convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988, killing 259 people on the plane and 11 on the ground.

Menendez is chairing an investigation looking into al-Megrahi's release. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the circumstances of his release.

Nancy McEldowney, the deputy assistant secretary of European affairs at the State Department, told the committee that the United States never approved of the release.

CNN

Iran's 'blogfather' sentenced to almost 20 years in prison

(CNN) -- An Iranian court has sentenced the so-called "blogfather" of Iran to 19½ years in prison, the semi-official Mashregh news website said Tuesday.

Hossein Derakhshan was "convicted of cooperating with enemy states, making propaganda against the Islamic system of government, promoting small anti-revolutionary groups, managing obscene web sites and insulting Islamic sanctities," Mashregh reported.

The 35-year-old Canadian-Iranian blogger and activist was also banned from journalistic endeavors and from joining any political parties for five years.

Derakhshan was arrested on November 1, 2008, and is being held at the Evin Prison in Tehran, reported the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Hamed Derakhshan, Hossein Derakhshan's brother, was shocked when he discovered the news of Hossein Derakhshan's sentence from an online news report.

CNN

Many 'extinct' species still alive, biologists say

London, England (CNN) -- Animals that were thought to be extinct for hundreds of years may in fact still be alive, according to a new study by Australian scientists.

Biologists at the University of Queensland examined more than 180 different extinct species, only to discover that a third of them were still alive.

The study which appeared in the journal "Proceedings of the Royal Society B" claims that conservationists have been overplaying the number of species driven to extinction.

The study also criticized conservationists by saying too much emphasis had been placed on trying to find species that would never be found again.

Diana Fisher, one of the authors of the study said it was more likely that species who were thought to be extinct because of habitat loss rather than human interference or disease were the most likely to be rediscovered.

CNN

Water map shows billions at risk of 'water insecurity'

About 80% of the world's population lives in areas where the fresh water supply is not secure, according to a new global analysis.

Researchers compiled a composite index of "water threats" that includes issues such as scarcity and pollution.

The most severe threat category encompasses 3.4 billion people.

Writing in the journal Nature, they say that in western countries, conserving water for people through reservoirs and dams works for people, but not nature.

They urge developing countries not to follow the same path.

Instead, they say governments should to invest in water management strategies that combine infrastructure with "natural" options such as safeguarding watersheds, wetlands and flood plains.

The analysis is a global snapshot, and the research team suggests more people are likely to encounter more severe stress on their water supply in the coming decades, as the climate changes and the human population continues to grow.

They have taken data on a variety of different threats, used models of threats where data is scarce, and used expert assessment to combine the various individual threats into a composite index.

The result is a map that plots the composite threat to human water security and to biodiversity in squares 50km by 50km (30 miles by 30 miles) across the world.

BBC News

Thousands of Nigerian women found in Mali 'slave camps'

Up to 40,000 Nigerian girls are being forced to work as prostitutes in Mali "slave camps", Nigerian officials say.

The girls have often been promised jobs in Europe but ended up in brothels in the capital or mining towns, said the government's anti-trafficking agency.

The brothels are run by older Nigerian women who prevent them from leaving and take all their earnings.

The agency said it was working with Malian police to free the girls and help them return to Nigeria.

Nigeria's National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (Naptip) said officials visited Mali this month to follow up "horrendous reports" from victims, aid workers and clergy in Mali.

They found hundreds of brothels, each housing up to 200 girls, run by Nigerian "madams" who force them to work against their will and take their earnings.

Naptip estimates that there are between 20,000 and 40,000 Nigerian women and girls living in such conditions.

"The girls are held in bondage for the purposes of forced sexual exploitation and servitude or slavery-like practices," Naptip's Executive Secretary Simon Egede told a news conference in Abuja.

"The madams control their freedom of movement, where they work, when they work and what they receive," he said.

BBC News

Nicole to make a big splash in the Caribbean, Florida

(CNN) -- A tropical depression over central Cuba became Tropical Storm Nicole Wednesday -- a system that forecasters say will drench parts of Florida and several Caribbean nations.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Cayman Islands, the provinces of Cuba from Matanzas east to Ciego De Avila, and the northwestern and central Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center said. But tropical storm warnings and watches for Florida have been discontinued.

Five to 10 inches of rain are expected for the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, and Cuba, and isolated amounts of 20 inches are possible in higher elevations in Cuba and Jamaica. The rains could produce "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," forecasters said.

Four to nine inches are possible over parts of southern Florida and the Bahamas.

An 11 a.m. advisory said the tropical depression strengthened to tropical storm status, with maximum winds of 40 miles per hour.

The center of the system is about 120 miles east-southeast of Havana, Cuba, and 260 miles southwest of Nassau. It is moving northeast at 9 miles per hour and will gradually increase in speed over the next 24 hours.

CNN

Sacked Moscow mayor fears return to Stalinism

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Long-time Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov accused President Dmitry Medvedev of leading Russia back into Stalinism a day before he was sacked, a letter in a Russian magazine showed Wednesday.

"Fear to express one's opinion in our country has existed since 1937," Luzhkov wrote to Medvedev, referring to the height of Stalinist repression.

"If the country's leadership is supporting those fears with its own remarks... then it is easy to come to a situation where we have only one leader whose words are carved in stone and who should be followed strictly and unquestionably. How does that correlate with your appeal to 'develop democracy?'" Luzhkov demands in the letter, which was published in The New Times.

Natalya Timakova, a spokeswoman for Medvedev, said Russia's president was not aware of the letter when he decided to fire Luzhkov, and it would not have influenced his decision in any case.

Medvedev fired Luzhkov on Tuesday, saying he has lost confidence in the latter's ability to run the city, the Kremlin said.

Luzhkov had run the sprawling metropolis since 1992. His removal was effective immediately, the Kremlin said, and his first deputy, Vladimir Resin, was appointed acting mayor.

CNN

University of Texas shooter was quiet, smart

(CNN) -- By some accounts, University of Texas sophomore Colton Tooley was brilliant in mind and respectful always in his behavior to others.

His friends and family in Austin struggled Wednesday to come to terms with the tragedy that befell the teenager they knew after police identified him as the student who brandished an AK-47 assault rifle through campus and then turned the gun on himself.

No one else was injured in Tuesday's shooting incident. Police still do not know what Tooley's motives were.

His teachers at Crockett High School recalled Cooley, 19, as a bright, meticulous student who excelled in every subject, according to a statement from Craig Shapiro, principal of a school now dealing with the tragic deaths of two of its students. Another student, James Hinojosa, was killed in a train accident last week.

Shapiro said the Crockett High School community was shocked and saddened by Tuesday's tragedy.

"Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Colton Tooley," he said.

Colton graduated from Crockett in 2009. He was ranked seventh in his class.

"It doesn't make sense at all," said David Sepeda, Tooley's high school friend.

Sepeda told CNN affiliate KXAN that Tooley was shy but friendly.

"In high school, he was always nice. He was quiet, but he wasn't like threatening or malicious or creepy-looking," Sepeda said. "He would just walk around and mind his own business".

According to the university, Tooley began firing the AK-47 near the Littlefield Fountain about 8:10 a.m. Officers from the University of Texas Police Department and the Austin Police Department pursued Tooley, who went into the Perry-Castaneda Library.

CNN

Nintendo 3DS to be released in U.S. in March

(CNN) -- The Nintendo 3DS has a release date, and it won't be in time for the holidays.

The iconic gaming company's much-buzzed-about hand-held 3-D device will go on sale in Japan in February, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said at a Tokyo news conference.

It will sell for the equivalent of about $300.

Iwata said the portable gaming console, which gaming writershonored among the best at this June's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, will be released in the United States and Europe in March.

The 3DS, which was unveiled at E3, lets the user play games, including updates to the "Legend of Zelda" and "Mario Kart" series, in 3-D without using special glasses.

The model Iwata displayed Wednesday looked slightly different from the one demoed at E3 in June.

He highlighted several new features. Players will be able to use the hand-held console as a camera, take pictures of themselves and automatically convert their images into Miis -- personalized in-game avatars like ones from Wii console games.

CNN