Zimmerman Injuries 'Insignificant', Court Hears

George Zimmerman need not have feared for his life before he shot and killed unnarmed teenager Trayvon Martin as his injuries were "insignificant", a medical examiner has said.

Valerie Rao said she reviewed Zimmerman's medical records and the pictures of his injuries taken at a police station after the confrontation in a gated community in Sanford, Florida.

"They were not life-threatening. They were very insignificant," she told the jury.

Zimmerman, 29, claimed he shot Trayvon in self-defence after the 17-year-old punched him in the face and repeatedly slammed his head into the pavement.

Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda questions detective Serino

Ms Rao said Zimmerman's injuries were consistent with one blow to the face and one impact with the concrete.

Earlier, judge Debra Nelson told the jury to ignore comments by detective Chris Serino after he said he found Zimmerman's account of how he got into a fight with Trayvon credible.

Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda argued the statement was improper because one witness is not allowed to give an opinion on the credibility of another.

Defence attorney Mark O'Mara had argued it was Detective Serino's job to decide whether Zimmerman was telling the truth.

But the judge agreed with Mr de la Rionda.

The prosecutor went on to question the police officer about his opinion that Zimmerman did not display any ill will or spite to Trayvon.

Prosecutors must prove there was ill will, spite or a depraved mind by the defendant to get a second-degree murder conviction.

Mr de la Rionda then played back Zimmerman's call to police to report the teen walking through his gated community in which the neighbourhood watch volunteer uses an expletive and refers to "punks".

George Zimmerman stands with his defence team

The detective conceded that Zimmerman's choice of words could be interpreted as being spiteful.

The prosecutor also challenged Mr Serino's contention that Zimmerman's story did not have any major inconsistencies.

Zimmerman claimed he spread out the teen's arms after he shot him. But a photo taken immediately after the shooting shows Trayvon's arms under his body.

"Is that inconsistent with the defendant's statement he spread the arms out?" Mr de la Rionda asked.

"That position, yes it is," Mr Serino said, though he later noted that Zimmerman's description was consistent with the medical examiner's report.

Also on Tuesday, the prosecution called Mark Osterman, a federal air marshal who described Zimmerman as "the best friend I've ever had".

He testified that he spoke with Zimmerman both the night of and the day after the shooting.

Mr Osterman later wrote a book about his recollections of what Zimmerman told him.

Under questioning by Mr de la Rionda, Mr Osterman said that Zimmerman told him Trayvon had grabbed his gun during their struggle, but that Zimmerman was able to pull it away.

That account is different from what Zimmerman told investigators in multiple interviews when he only said it appeared Trayvon was reaching for his gun prior to the shooting. He never told police the teen grabbed it.

"I thought he had said he grabbed the gun," Mr Osterman said. "I believe he said he grabbed the gun."

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Portugal: Markets Fall As Crisis Deepens

Portugal's financial crisis has reignited, triggering a stock market plunge and once again raising the spectre that its borrowing costs could soon become unsustainable.

Share prices plummeted 6% in early trading on Wednesday and other major stock markets, including the FTSE 100, also fell sharply.

Investors were reacting to growing political turmoil after Foreign Minister Paulo Portas resigned on Tuesday night, a day after the shock departure of Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar amid growing unrest against austerity.

Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has defied calls to follow suit but the resignations at the top of the centre-right government have left deep concerns over not only the coalition's future but Portugal's ability to pursue the steep savings, demanded by creditors, in return for continued bailout support.

There has been a fierce public backlash against the austerity drive, in what is one of the poorest countries that uses the euro.

Values correct at 09:24 BST

But unease among investors about whether that tough savings programme will continue has forced up the country's borrowing costs too on bond markets.

The yield - the percentage Portugal pays to service its debts - on the country's benchmark 10-year bond spiked just below 8% on Wednesday.

A 10-year borrowing rate of about 8% is widely considered unsustainable.

Spanish and Italian yields jumped too while nervousness over the state of Greece's next tranche of bailout money also caused jitters on stock markets as well.

"With disorder and uncertainty over the political situation in Egypt threatening stability in the Middle East, and a Greek deadline looming to prove it can action its bailout conditions before receiving the next tranche of aid, volatility is likely to be high," Mark Ward, head of trading at Sanlam Securities, said.

Jose Manuel Barroso is monitoring developments with "concern"

The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso admitted the situation in Portugal was a worry.

He said: "The initial reaction of the markets shows the obvious risk that the financial credibility recently built up by Portugal could be jeopardised by the current political instability.

"If this happens it would be especially damaging for the Portuguese people, particularly as there were already preliminary signs of economic recovery.

This delicate situation requires a great sense of responsibility from all political forces and leaders. The situation should be clarified as soon as possible."

He concluded: "We trust that Portuguese democracy will deliver a solution ensuring that the sacrifices the Portuguese people have made until now will not have been in vain."

It later emerged that Portugal's president would meet the prime minister and leaders of political parties on Thursday in a bid to settle the uncertainty.

President Anibal Cavaco Silva has the power to call snap elections.

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Vietnam Veteran Soldier Given Back Arm Bones

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

An American doctor has returned the bones of an arm he amputated in 1966 back to their owner - an enemy soldier he treated during the Vietnam War.

In an extraordinary and emotional moment, Sam Axelrad took the skeletal remains of Nguyen Quang Hung's arm out of a cardboard box and handed them to him, marking the end of a long and improbable story.

January 1967, a few months after the amputation. Pic: Sam Axelrad

In 1966, Dr Axelrad was a medic serving with the American army in Vietnam. Mr Hung was his enemy. In October of that year, Mr Hung was shot in the arm during an ambush by American soldiers.

Badly injured, Mr Hung floated down a small river to escape the continued US attack. He was eventually picked up by American soldiers and taken to a US field hospital.

"When I was captured by the American forces, I was like a fish on a chopping-board," Mr Hung said last week. "They could have either killed or spared me."

He was treated by Dr Axelrad who decided the only way to save Mr Hung's life was to amputate his right arm.

The arm was removed and Mr Hung made a full recovery, spending the remainder of the war working with the Americans.

However, in a strangely unorthodox move, Dr Axelrad's medical colleagues decided to keep the amputated arm as a reminder of an enemy life saved in war.

They removed the flesh and reconstructed the various different bones. It was presented to Dr Axelrad as a memento of his work. It was not standard US military practice, but half a century later, it would prove to be a wonderful decision.

The bones travelled back to Texas with Dr Axelrad. They were left in an army-issue bag in a cupboard where they were forgotten for nearly 50 years.

Dr Axelrad (R) carries the box containing the bones as he meets Mr Hung (L)

In 2011, Dr Axelrad finally decided to put painful memories of the war behind him and look through the bag.

"It just blew me away what was in there," Dr Axelrad told reporters at a Hanoi hotel on Sunday. "That kind of triggered my thoughts of returning."

Dr Axelrad and his family first travelled back to Vietnam last summer. Their tour guide, a Vietnamese journalist called Tran Quynh Hoa, was fascinated by the quest to reunite arm with soldier. An article by Mr Hoa in a local newspaper was read widely and finally yielded results.

At the weekend, the two former enemy soldiers embraced at Mr Hung's home.

In a truly bizarre moment, the skeletal hand and forearm was lifted from a cardboard box and passed back from doctor to patient.

"I'm very glad to see him again and have that part of my body back after nearly half a century," Mr Hung said in an interview with Stars and Stripes military newspaper on Monday after meeting Dr Axelrad.

"I can't believe that an American doctor took my infected arm, got rid of the flesh, dried it, took it home and kept it for more than 40 years," he said. "I don't think it's the kind of keepsake that most people would want to own."

Dr Axelrad (R) holds the arm bone of the ex-soldier at Mr Hung's (L) home

But from the embrace Mr Hung gave to Dr Axelrod, the two were clearly thrilled to be reunited.

"We are from two different countries and we were on the opposite sides during the war, but this is the sentiment between people," Mr Hung said.

The two men exchanged gifts, introduced their families and even joked about which of them had held kept their looks after all the years. An emotional Dr Axelrad explained what the reunion meant to him.

"It was important to get the arm back … it was put on the table, off to the side and quite frankly, the event of him being with me and me being with him really overshadowed whatever that arm meant," he said.

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US Drone Strike Kills 18 In Pakistan

By Neville Lazarus, Asia Producer

A US drone has killed at least 18 people in northwest Pakistan after a compound and vehicle near a bazaar were targeted.

Reports suggest the strike in Miranshah, in North Waziristan, targeted a senior Haqqani network leader. There is no confirmation whether the leader was killed in the attack.

The Haqqani network is one of the most dangerous organisations based in the tribal regions of Pakistan.

They have been responsible for most of the attacks in Kabul and on Western forces in Afghanistan. The network pledges its allegiance to the Afghan Taliban chief Mullaha Omar and is alleged to be protected by Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI.

The strike is one of the worst since the new government, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's party the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, took over after the general elections in May.

Mr Khan has been a long time vocal critic of America's policy of drone strikes in the region.

He has raised the issue at every forum calling them illegal and a contributing factor to the recruitment of more terrorists.

Drone strikes are hugely unpopular in Pakistan and were a major election issue. Mr Khan has accused the federal government of towing the American line and permitting these strikes.

Imran Khan addressing supporters in May

The United States uses unmanned drones to hunt al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan's tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

The US considers these attacks an extremely useful tool in war against terror.

US President Barack Obama has come under intense criticism for authorising the strikes, which have killed a number of civilians, including women and children.

According to the Bureau of Investigative journalism, an independent think tank based in the UK, there have been 370 drone attacks in Pakistan since 2004.

Of this number, 319 attacks have been under President Obama's presidency. During George W Bush's tenure from 2004 till 2009 there were only 52 such strikes.

Mr Obama has made it clear that the US will continue its policy.

Speaking at the National Defence University in Washington DC earlier this year, he made an impassioned defence of the US targeted killing programme, insisting that it was both effective and legal.

But he admitted that this may not be enough. He conceded that civilians have died and for himself and "those in my chain of command, these deaths will haunt us as long as we live".

Under his administration new rules have been put in place for such lethal strikes. But questions of its legality will arise every time collateral damage takes place.

Mr Khan's party, which is the second largest opposition party, has tabled a resolution in the national parliament stating that the strikes violate Pakistan's sovereignty and integrity and also violate international laws and treaties.

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Egypt Sex Attacks Reach 'Horrific' Levels

Almost 100 women have been sexually assaulted in Cairo's Tahrir Square in just four days, according to Human Rights Watch.

The charity described the attacks as "rampant" and said they highlight the "failure of the government and all political parties to face up to the violence that women in Egypt experience on a daily basis".

Some of the 91 women assaulted were reportedly beaten with metal chains, chairs and sticks, while others were attacked with knives.

Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said: "These are serious crimes that are holding women back from participating fully in the public life of Egypt at a critical point in the country's development."

The assaults come amid escalating protests in the square around the first anniversary of President Mohamed Morsi's election.

He faces mounting pressure to resign, as well as an army deadline to resolve the country's political crisis that could lead to military intervention.

Some say the attacks are staged by thugs who are abusing a lack of security and are confident of escaping prosecution.

Others claim they are organised to scare women into not joining anti-government protests.

Human Rights Watch cited figures from a hotline for victims of sexual assault and Nazra for Feminist Studies, a women's rights group.

The watchdog called on Egyptian officials and political leaders to "condemn and take immediate steps to address the horrific levels of sexual violence" in the square.

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Australia: Killer Whale Pod In Rare Stranding

Two killer whales died and five others were rescued after a rare stranding of the animals in Australia.

The pod of seven orcas became beached on a sandbar off Queensland's Fraser Island as they appeared to be heading into deeper waters.

More than a dozen rescuers worked throughout the day to free them but a mother and her calf died from overheating, according to local media.

Peter Wright from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service said in a statement: "Rangers have been attempting to keep the whales comfortable with water and shade while waiting for the tide to rise."

Officials said the stranding of killer whales is rare across the globe and it is unclear why it happened.

Orcas are one of the world's most powerful predators, feasting on seals, sea lions and even other whales with teeth that can reach 10cm.

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Ecuador Finds Bug In Its London Embassy

Ecuador has found a hidden microphone inside its London embassy where the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is living.

Foreign minister Ricardo Patino, speaking in his home country, said he would disclose on Wednesday who controls the device.

Mr Patino said the microphone was found in the office of the Ecuadorean ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ana Alban.

It was discovered when Mr Patino visited the embassy on June 16 to meet Mr Assange, who has been hiding out there for a year.

The WikiLeaks boss works in a different room within the building.             

Ecuador's foreign minister Ricardo Patino in Quito this week

The Foreign Office in London declined to comment immediately on the allegation and David Cameron's spokesman said he did not comment on security issues.

Mr Assange has been living at the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations by two women of sexual assault and rape, which he denies.

He fears that if sent to Sweden he could be extradited from there to the US to face potential charges over the release of thousands of confidential documents.                           

"We regret to inform you that in our embassy in London we have found a hidden microphone," Patino told a news conference in Quito on Tuesday.             

Julian Assange at the embassy in June

"I didn't denounce this at the time because we didn't want the theme of our visit to London to be confused with this matter.             

"Furthermore, we first wanted to ascertain with precision what could be the origin of this interception device in the office of our ambassador.            

"We are sorry to say so, but this is another instance of a loss of ethics at the international level in relations between governments."             

Ecuador's protection of Mr Assange has strained relations with Britain.

Mr Patino met Foreign Secretary William Hague on June 17 to discuss the situation but officials said afterwards no substantive progress had been made.              

WikiLeaks used its Twitter account to condemn the hidden microphone.            

"Bugging of Ecuador's London embassy and the blockading of Morales' jet shows that imperial arrogance is the gift that keeps on giving," the anti-secrecy group said.

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Mandela Family Remains 'Must Be Exhumed'

By Robert Nisbet, Sky News Correspondent

Nelson Mandela's eldest grandson has lost his appeal against a court order to return the remains of three relatives to a graveyard where the former president was raised.

Mandla Mandela, who is the chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council, had exhumed the bodies of his father and two other children of the ailing icon without seeking permission from other relatives.

He put the remains in three graves near a visitor centre and complex he is building in the Eastern Cape where Nelson Mandela was born.

The relatives argue he moved the bodies to establish a family cemetery at the development - which could eventually include the grave of Nelson Mandela - in order to attract paying tourists.

After Judge Lusindiso Pakade made the ruling, one of the lawyers for the Mandela family was heard saying outside court: "The hearse is on the way."

Mandela's daughter Makaziwe (L), grandson Ndaba and granddaughter Ndileka

The court has said Mandla, the chief of the clan and Mandela's official heir, must exhume the bodies by 3pm, or a sheriff would be sent to Qunu to carry out the task.

The grandson's legal team launched an immediate appeal, saying the chief did not have enough time to explain his side of the story to the court and called for a mediator to be appointed, to avoid unwanted publicity.

Mandela's eldest daughter Makaziwe Mandela, her nephew Ndaba Mandela, and niece Ndileka Mandela were in court to observe proceedings.

The graves are those of Mandela's eldest son, Mandla Mandela's father, Makgatho Mandela, who died in 2005; Mandela's first daughter Makaziwe Mandela, who died as an infant in 1948; and Mandela's second son Madiba Thembekile, who died in a car accident in 1969.

The family dispute comes as the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader remains critically ill in a Pretoria hospital.  

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Dewani: 'Better To Get On With' Extradition

Delaying the extradition to South Africa of the man accused of murdering his wife on their honeymoon could make things worse for him, a court has heard.

Shrien Dewani, who has depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, is accused of orchestrating the death of his 28-year-old wife Anni, who was shot on the outskirts of Cape Town in November 2010.

The 33-year-old strongly denies any involvement in his wife's murder.

Psychiatrist Dr Ian Cumming told London's Westminster Magistrates' Court: "It could be six months, then another six months, then on and on.

Dewani has strongly denied involvment in his wife's murder

"It could make things worse and could be better to get on with it. Actually it may be a kind thing for him - to actually get on."

Dr Cumming has visited South Africa and been reassured that the businessman would be admitted to a general ward at Valkenberg Hospital in Cape Town, rather than a unit where people are sent by the courts.

He is confident the standard of Dewani's ongoing medical treatment will be "robust" and will not drop once he leaves Britain.

"The receiving hospital there will prepare themselves very well," he said. "There will be exchange of information and reports and a handover. It is likely a nurse will accompany him from the UK to South Africa.

"I think they would make it as robust as possible. They would not stop whatever medication he is on - that would be bad practice and they would not do that."

Dewani's post-traumatic stress is severe, his depressive illness is moderate to severe, and his current risk of self-harm is real and significant but not immediate, the court was told.

He has received treatment for his mental condition since his wife's death, most recently at two units near Bristol.

The place where he is currently being treated seems to be a "protective mechanism for him", Dr Cumming noted.

Previously, Dewani's lawyers have expressed concerns he would be a high suicide risk if he returned to the country, and his human rights could be breached because of the risk of violent and sexual assaults in jail, and of contracting HIV.

Newlywed Mrs Dewani was shot when a taxi in which the couple were travelling was hijacked in the Gugulethu township.

Mr Dewani and driver Zola Tongo were ejected from the car before Mrs Dewani was driven away and killed.

She was found dead in the back of the abandoned vehicle with a bullet wound to her neck.

Last year, South African Xolile Mngeni was convicted of premeditated murder for shooting Mrs Dewani.

Prosecutors claimed he was a hit-man hired by Shrien Dewani to kill his new wife, something that Dewani has consistently denied.

Tongo was jailed for 18 years after he admitted his part in the crime, and another accomplice, Mziwamadoda Qwabe, also pleaded guilty to charges over the murder and was handed a 25-year prison sentence.

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Egypt's Morsi Fights On As Army Deadline Passes

Why Egyptian Army Backs The People

Updated: 1:45pm UK, Wednesday 03 July 2013

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in Cairo

Egypt's Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (Scarf) has pirouetted through a revolution and successive crises.

With extraordinary agility, the military sloughed off its history of dictatorship and took on a new costume of defender of the State and its people in 2011.

It has now locked horns with the Arab world's most populous nation's democratically-elected president, again in the name of the people.

Could there be other motives for his new found champion of Egypt's industrial workers.

The Scarf's chairman, General Abdul Fatah al Sisi, British and American trained, gave the president 48 hours to end an uprising against his first year in office, or ...

The rest is unclear. But leaks to local and international media indicate that a coup has been planned.

The threat is new. The complaints are not.

In December last year and in the following February, the general called on the government to acknowledge the will of the people.

Then, as now, large sections of society are angered by attacks on the media and the Islamisation of the new constitution.

On June 15, many were horrified when President Mohamed Morsi called on Egyptians to join a 'Holy War' against President Bashar al Assad of Syria - seemingly putting Egypt's weight behind a Syrian jihad.

His party, the Muslim Brotherhood, was banned by the military in 1954.

Its members suffered decades of persecution, imprisonment, exile, torture and death but emerged as the most well-organised element of the 2011 revolution - and won political power as a result.

This has been anathema to the military which see themselves in the Nasserite tradition of modernising Arabs.

But there may also be less high-minded reasons for the military to be backing 'the people' against the president.

The armed forces control vast amounts of the Egyptian economy. Its investments and holdings include hotels, fridge factories, mineral water bottling, car manufacturing. Its agricultural operations make it the country's biggest food supplier.

Officially it acknowledges generating $198m (£130m) a year. The true scale is probably several times that figure.

Now Egypt's economy is on its knees. It has been bailed out by Qatar but remains dangerous vulnerable to debt default.

Two years of instability has been bad for the economy and the military's assets inside that economy.

Law and order has been collapsing - the Sinai is now a largely military zone where Egypt's army has been sent to fight Islamists.

Towns like Port Said have been largely abandoned by the police.

Religious tensions have risen between Muslims and Egypt's 10 million Christians.

So the economy continues to decline.

The military may well want to head off a further collapse of central power and seize it in the 'interests of the nation'.

But such a move might not be bad for its business, either.

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