China Billionaires: Sharp Rise In Richest

There has been a big rise in the number of billionaires in China, with a developer who bought one of the biggest US cinema chains being named the country's wealthiest tycoon.

The number of Chinese people worth at least $1bn (£633m) has risen by 64 to 315 this year thanks to a surge in stock prices, according to the Hurun Report, which follows China's wealthy.

The top five on the rich list saw their wealth double, Hurun said.

Property developer Wang Jianlin is in charge of Dalian Wanda Group, a company that operates hotels, cinemas and department stores.

Mr Wang is ranked number one for the first time on Hurun's annual list of Chinese tycoons.

He has a fortune of $22bn (£14bn) ahead of last year's top billionaire, beverage entrepreneur Zong Qinghou, who came in second with $18.7bn.

Mr Wang's company bought AMC cinemas last year for $2.6bn (£1.6bn) in the biggest Chinese acquisition of a US company to date.

Number three on the Hurun list was Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, the founder of Tencent, a popular provider of online games and entertainment, at $10.1bn.

Beverage entrepreneur Zong Qinghou ranked second on the list

China's richest woman was Yang Huiyan at number five with $8.3bn.

A decade ago, China had no dollar billionaires.

Now the country has more billionaires than any other country except the US.

The latest rankings reflect the rapid changes in China's economy and shifts in wealth from one industry to the next.

One in four of the 1,021 people on the Hurun rich list made their money from property, which passed manufacturing to become this year's top source of wealth in China.

Hurun said 559 of those on the list saw their wealth grow, while 252 saw their fortunes shrink.

Property prices in China have soared, driven partly by a flood of government spending and bank lending in response to the 2008 global crisis.

The surge in asset prices has helped widen the gulf between China's wealthy elite and the poor majority, fuelling social tensions.

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Will US Climb Down Russia's Ladder On Syria?

Much now depends on what happens when Sergei Lavrov meets John Kerry in Geneva on Thursday.

The Russian Foreign Minister can be expected to outline vague details of how Moscow's plan to disarm Syria of chemical weapons will work.

The US Secretary of State can be expected to press for a clear timeline and structure. They may then both emerge, separately, and give their versions of what has been achieved.

Both men must surely know that the Russian idea will probably never come to fruition, or if it does, will take months to get off the ground.

As discussed on Tuesday, the complexities of inserting hundreds of civilian scientists into a war zone are many.

However, if the White House is looking for a way not to bomb, but also to save face, the Russian construct of a diplomatic ladder to climb down will not be dismissed as the improbable scenario it is.

So, Lavrov will talk about UN committees, possible Russian oversight, potential ceasefires, knowing that will take time. Kerry will make noises about a UN Security Council Resolution nailing down the timeframe and details.

After that it depends how serious the Americans are about the resolution.

If they call Russia's bluff they will insist on a Chapter Seven Resolution (one backed by force), they will want the text to blame Assad for the August 21 chemical attack and they will want to include the words "serious consequences" for failure to comply - as that is the code for war.

The Americans, British and French all know that there is no way the Russians will accept such a resolution.

So if they press it, we will know that in a matter of weeks they will return to the threat of military action.

If they do not press it, if they water down the language, or allow the process to run into the thicket of committees at the UN, we will know that the Americans are taking the Russian ladder and climbing down it.

The White House has its limits. If the Russians overstretch and play too much hardball at the UN, if they publicly embarrass the US, then President Obama, who is keeping the war card in his back pocket,  might still turn round the perception that he has presided over a slow-motion diplomatic car crash.

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Papua New Guinea: Deadly Ambush On Tourists

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Bandits in Papua New Guinea have attacked a group of hikers from Australia and New Zealand, hacking two of their guides to death.

Six men armed with guns, a spear and bush knives ambushed the group as they walked along a track through the Pacific island nation, leaving a number of the tourists with injuries.

"The attack resulted in the deaths of two Papua New Guinea nationals who were porters for the group," a spokesman for Australia's foreign affairs department (DFAT) said.

"Other members of the group, including eight Australians, one New Zealander and a number of Papua New Guinea nationals, sustained injuries during the attack, however none of the injuries are life-threatening."

It was not clear what sparked the assault.

The group members were attacked with machetes, spears and guns

"Three of the porters suffered lacerations to their arms and eyes, one was wounded on both legs," police spokesman Dominic Kakas said.

"They all had their passports stolen. One man was speared in the left leg. Another has a head laceration, cuts on left elbow and bruises and cut on his back."

One of the Australians had his left arm slashed, he added.

Some of the group walked for hours to seek help, and all the injured were later treated at a clinic in Wau, where they spent the night.

Workers at a local mining company helped the injured trekkers, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Rescue operator Morobe Mining Joint Venture spokesman Stanley Komunt said the 10 surviving porters had been flown to Lae hospital for treatment.

The tourists were hiking through Papua New Guinea's mountains. (File pic)

"We were told one porter had been killed, then found it was two," he said. "They are all at Lae receiving medical treatment."

The group were hiking along the Black Cat Track, which runs between Wau and Salamaua in northern Papua New Guinea.

It was the scene of bitter fighting between Australian and US troops against Japanese forces in 1943 and is regarded as one of the most challenging treks in the wild due to the mountainous country.

"The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby has provided consular support and will meet with the group when they return to Port Moresby," the DFAT spokesman said.

"We recommend that trekkers avoid the Black Cat Track until local police have investigated this incident."

Crime in PNG is rampant, including in the capital Port Moresby where in June four Chinese nationals were hacked to death, with one reportedly beheaded and the others dismembered.

Brutality against women is particularly endemic. In April, a US academic was gang-raped while she was trekking along a jungle trail with her husband and a guide. 

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Libya: Car Bomb Blast Shakes Benghazi

A powerful explosion has caused serious damage to a foreign ministry building in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, according to witnesses.

The blast - on the 12th anniversary of the bombing of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York - also comes on the anniversary of an attack by militants on the US consulate in Benghazi, which killed four Americans, including US ambassador Christopher Stevens.

The officials said several passers-by were slightly injured by the explosion, which blew out windows in nearby buildings.

A large section of the foreign ministry building has been destroyed and parts of the nearby local headquarters of the central bank seriously damaged, according to a photographer.

The remains of the cars from last year's car bomb

Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 revolt that toppled and led to the death of dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, has been hit by a wave of deadly attacks in recent months targeting security force officers and members of the judiciary, many of whom served the previous regime.

Attacks have also targeted diplomats and western interests.

Much of the violence, including the killing of the US ambassador last year, has been attributed to radical Islamists who are deeply rooted in the region.

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Philippines: Hostages Used As Human Shield

Rebel fighters have used hostages as a human shield during a stand-off with security forces in the Philippines.

Dozens of citizens were tied together and positioned between the rebels and government soldiers in the port city of Zamboanga, as fighting entered a third day.

The hostages waved white flags and sheets, and shouted "please don't shoot" as snipers positioned on the roof of a residential block fired at troops around 500m away.

The rebels, who belong to a breakaway faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), have brought much of Zamboanga to a standstill.

Schools, shops and offices have been closed, and flights and ferry services suspended, while an estimated 12,000 people have been displaced.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said government soldiers were "not launching an offensive", adding: "Our troops are only returning fire."

"Our mission is to contain (the rebels), not to rescue hostages," he said.

The rebels are attempting to declare an independent state a year after opposing a deal between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government.

That agreement led to a new autonomous region and gave the rival group more political control.

Isabelle Climaco Salazar, the mayor of Zamboanga, urged the rebels to free their hostages and agree to talks with the government.

"This is no longer a local problem, this is an international problem," she said.

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Israel Pays $1.2m For Australian 'Spy' Death

Israel has agreed to pay $1.2m (£760,000) compensation to the family of an Australian-Israeli found dead in a prison cell after allegedly working as a spy for the country's intelligence service, Mossad.

Ben Zygier was 34 years old when he hanged himself in his cell on 15 December 2010, shortly after a visit from his wife. He had been secretly arrested and imprisoned several months earlier in circumstances which remain unclear.

The existence of Israel's so-called Prisoner X only became known when it was revealed by the ABC's Foreign Correspondent programme earlier this year.

Mr Zygier was found hanged in his cell in Israel's Ayalon prison

It was suggested Mr Zygier was being held for treason after he mistakenly disrupted a Mossad mission in 2007 to exhume the bodies of Israeli tank crewmen captured and killed by Syrian forces during Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

The revelations, although unconfirmed, led to a political scandal in Israel with feared intelligence agency forced to review recruiting procedures.

The disclosures also generated intense interest in Australia leading to Foreign Minister Bob Carr criticising his department's handling of the case.

Australian minister Bob Carr criticised the way the case was handled

Israeli Attorney General, Moshe Lador, admitted there were serious mistakes made by the prison service.

Prison guards missed periodic checks of Mr Zygier's "suicide proof" cell, at least one CCTV camera was faulty, and crucial information about his poor mental health was not given to prison doctors.

But an enquiry decided there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against prison staff.

Mr Zygier's family will receive an immediate payment of $720,000 (£456,420) with further payments of $120,000 (£76,070) over four years.

Mr Zygier is survived by his wife and two children

But they are party to a gagging clause which prevents them speaking publicly about the circumstances of the settlement.

His parents Geoffrey and Louise are prominent leaders of Melbourne's Jewish community and are understood to have a central role in negotiations for compensation.

The terms of the agreement absolve the Israeli government for any blame over Mr Zygier''s death.

Mr Zygier, who was born in Melbourne, is survived by his Israeli wife and two small children.

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9/11 Attacks: Americans Mark Anniversary

Americans have marked the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks with bell-tolling, the reading of victims' names and moments of silence.

At the World Trade Center, hundreds gathered for a sombre ceremony marking 12 years since the attacks.

Bagpipes and a youth choir ushered in the start of the solemn proceedings, held around two reflecting pools that stand in the footprint of the fallen twin towers.

Relatives recited the names of those who died in the 2001 attack, as well as in another attack in 1993.

"Daddy, I miss you so much, and I think about you every day," Christina Aceto said of her father, Richard Anthony Aceto.

"You were more than just my daddy, you were my best friend."

Tribute of Light from the World Trade Center site. Pic. David Dusek

A moment of silence at 8.46am marked the moment when the first plane hit the twin towers 12 years ago. 

Another pause was held at 9.03am, when the second plane hit the twin towers.

In Washington, President Barack Obama held a moment of silence the White House South Lawn.

He was joined by First Lady Michelle, Vice President Joe Biden and staffers.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks

The President then visited the Pentagon Memorial.

Nearly 3,000 people died when hijacked jets crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 crashed killing 40 passengers and crew. 

"No matter how many years pass, this time comes around each year - and it's always the same," said Karen Hinson of Seaford, New York, who lost her 34-year-old brother, Michael Wittenstein.

"My brother was never found, so this is where he is for us," she said as she arrived for the New York ceremony with her family.

Continuing a decision made last year, no politicians speak at the ceremony.

Two skyscrapers are nearly completed on either side of the plaza, including One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the western hemisphere at 1,776 feet - a symbolic number chosen to allude to the year of the Declaration of Independence.

Around the world, thousands of volunteers have pledged to do good deeds, honouring an anniversary that was designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance in 2009.

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Syria: UN Accuses Assad As Obama Backtracks

Russia has given the United States its plan for placing Syria's chemical weapons under international control, after President Barack Obama delayed a vote on air strikes.

Russia's Interfax news agency reported that the proposals had been handed over ahead of the meeting in Geneva on Thursday between the country's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

It followed an address to the nation from Mr Obama, who said he had asked Congress to postpone any decision on military action so a diplomatic solution could be pursued.

It came ahead of the release of a UN report that confirmed at least eight massacres had been carried out in Syria by President Bashar al Assad's regime and one by rebels over the past year and a half.

The UN commission investigating human rights abuses in Syria described the country as a battlefield where "massacres are perpetrated with impunity," and said it was looking into nine more suspected mass killings since March.

Towns and cities across Syria have been destroyed

Despite Mr Obama's decision to postpone the Congress vote, he said he remained cautious about Russia's plan for Syria to declare its chemical weapons - saying it was "too early to tell" if an agreement could be reached.

He said the images and videos of men, women and children dying in the suspected gas attack by the Assad regime were sickening and demanded a response.

But speaking from the East Room in the White House, he said he had asked Congress to postpone a vote on action in Syria while the possibility of a diplomatic solution is pursued.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Moallem said the regime was ready to co-operate fully with the Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control, and would stop producing more.

But Mr Obama has ordered the US military to maintain its current posture to keep the pressure on Mr Assad's regime should diplomacy fail.

"It is too early to tell whether this offer will succeed," he said. "And any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments. But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force."

Poison gas canisters

Mr Obama once again ruled out putting American "boots on the ground", but added that with "modest effort and risks", limited strikes could make Syria safer.

"A targeted strike can make Assad - or any other dictator - think twice about using chemical weapons," he said.

He accepted that many Americans were weary of military action after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Obama said the limitations he was imposing on the potential strike would ensure against the US sliding down a slippery slope into another prolonged war.

"The purpose of this strike would be to deter Assad from using chemical weapons, to degrade his regime's ability to use them and to make clear to the world that we will not tolerate their use," he explained.

Mr Obama insisted the US was not the "world's policeman", but said when ideals, principles and security are at stake, his country must act.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted by state TV as saying: "We hope that the new US attitude toward Syria would be a serious policy and not a media campaign.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he hoped the US was serious about its stance

"The latest developments, if they can be taken seriously, show that they (US and its allies) have stepped back from the inconsiderate and mistaken actions that they had taken in the past few weeks."

At the United Nations, Britain, France and the US discussed elements of a draft Security Council resolution that would include a timeline for Syria to declare the full extent of its poison gas arsenal and to cede control of it to the UN.

An official close to French president Francois Hollande, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said tense negotiations had begun on a proposed resolution.

They said Russia objected not only to making the resolution militarily enforceable, but also to blaming the Syrian government for the chemical attack on August 21 that sparked the recent crisis.

The official said Russia also refused to agree on a demand that those responsible for the attack be taken before an international criminal court.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously insisted the handover of weapons would only work if the US rejected a use of force against Syria.

Sky Moscow Correspondent Katie Stallard said: "Russia would be quite content for this now to get bogged down at the UN Security Council, because they are keenly aware here that there's a clock ticking down all the while, that President Obama is making his case for military action now.

"As long as the perception remains that there is a peaceful solution available, whether or not in the long term that is enforceable, they will be satisfied that it is taking the wheels off his argument and the momentum behind the calls for military action."

It comes after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Syrian government forces and rebel fighters were preventing medical assistance from reaching the wounded.

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Philadelphia Girl Found Starved To Death

The parents of a three-year-old girl who starved to death in Philadelphia have been charged with murder.

Nathalyz Rivera, a girl with special needs, weighed only 11 pounds (5kg) when she was found in a filthy home. That is the average weight of a three-month-old.

Her mother took the girl to hospital, wrapped in a dirty blanket, but she was already dead, local news reports say.

The Philadelphia home where the girl was found

When crime scene investigators went to the scene, they wore bio-hazard suits and masks to search the squalid apartment, which was strewn with garbage.

At one point they called the fire department to use their ladder so they could take pictures from the window of the home. 

The girl's parents, Carmen Ramirez and Carlos Rivera, have been charged with third-degree murder.

The Philadelphia homicide captain called it one of the worst cases of child malnutrition he has ever seen.

"I saw the photos, they were extremely disturbing," said homicide captain James Clark.

Nathalyz showed signs of bruising and bites on her body.

Forensic investigators at the scene

"That may have been from fleas or insects or rodents biting her," said Mr Clark.

The couple's four other children - aged nine, eight, seven, and a twin of the three-year-old girl who died - were placed in the custody of children's welfare services.

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Turkey Shooting: British Family 'Shocked'

The family of three British people shot, including one fatally, in Turkey have said they were "lovely people who would never harm anybody".

Catherine Anne Bury, who was known as Anne, died after she was attacked at the family villa allegedly by her gardener.

Her son Alex, 24, and mother Cecilia, who is in her 80s, were injured in the shooting in the resort of Dalyan on Monday.

The family of 56-year-old Ms Bury thanked people for their "warm wishes and condolences at this very sad time".

Alex Bury was shot in the leg

They added: "Although our family are still deeply shocked and grieving for Anne, we are pleased to say that both Anne's mother and son are recovering from their injuries.

"Both have been given wonderful care, treatment and support by hospital and consulate staff and many other local people."

Mr Bury has described how he pleaded with the alleged gunman Veli Acar to stop the attack, trying to reason with him before he opened fire on his mother.

Speaking from his bed in Mugla University Hospital, Mr Bury told The Times he recognised the gunman as Acar, their gardener who was said to have been in a relationship with his mother.

Mr Bury is recovering in hospital after the shooting

Acar had apparently threatened the family earlier that weekend, but was later released by the police and returned with a pump-action shotgun to the Bury's villa.

Mr Bury, who was shot in the leg, said: "I tried to reason with him. I told him it didn't have to be this way.

"He lifted the gun to his shoulder and gestured for me to go through to my mother and grandmother's room. They had heard me talking and had locked themselves in the room."

Acar is alleged to have gunned down Ms Bury as she cowered in the villa bathroom.

The family added: "It appears that the person that Anne employed as a general gardener/handyman, to look after her holiday villas, has committed this terrible crime.

"We cannot comprehend the mentality of somebody who would do this to three lovely people who would never harm anybody.

"We would like once again to thank everyone for their kindness and offers of help - they are a great source of strength to us."

The alleged gunman was the gardener at the villa

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism confirmed the death of Ms Bury, who lived in the North Yorkshire village of Swainby.

Ms Bury, who trained as a midwife, had been working for an oil company in Dubai in a health role.

Her son worked at a North Yorkshire hotel, the Cleveland Tontine, after taking a year out of university, but is hoping to restart his studies in medicine.

Ms Bury's mother has been discharged after treatment.

Acar is said to have given himself up after the shooting and is due in court.

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