Japan volcano eruption toll climbs to 47
OTAKI, Japan -- The death toll from Saturday's eruption on Mount Ontake in central Japan rose to 47, Nagano police said Wednesday.
While ash and gases were spewing from the crater Wednesday, searchers wearing surgical masks and helmets carried devices to measure the toxicity of the gases to make sure it was safe to be on the slopes filled with volcanic debris.
Ground Self-Defense Forces mobilized CH-47 helicopters to take the last bodies to the foot of Ontake, known as one of Japan's 100 best mountains and topped by a shrine that attracts visitors. Prefectural and police officials said most bodies were found around the summit, where many climbers were resting or having lunch at the time of the surprise eruption.
One body recovered near the volcano's peak was in a squatting position and had to be dug out of a thick layer of ash, police said. Another was caught between boulders bigger than large refrigerators.
Authorities said all of the known victims had been recovered, but the decision on whether to end the search was still being evaluated.
U.K. releases ex-Guantanamo detainee
LONDON -- British prosecutors dropped terrorism charges Wednesday against a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who is a high-profile advocate for the rights of terror suspects.
Moazzam Begg accused authorities of "demonizing" the Muslim community after he walked free, days before he had been due to stand trial on seven counts relating to the war in Syria. In a last-minute reversal, prosecutors acknowledged that new evidence had emerged that undermined the case.
"I think it shows that we have a knee-jerk reaction. It shows that little has changed since the beginning of the early days of the war on terror," Begg said after his release from Belmarsh Prison.
Police issued a statement defending the investigation and said that authorities continually "assess the evidence in terrorism prosecutions and will alter course if that is the right and proper thing to do."
Begg has been in prison for seven months awaiting trial on accusations that he attended a terrorism training camp in Syria in 2012-2013 and of funding terrorism, among other charges.
He previously was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 as an "enemy combatant." He was held by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and sent a year later to the U.S.-run prison camp in Cuba. He was released without being charged in 2005.
He is the outreach director for the campaign group Cage, wrote a book about his Guantanamo experiences and has been active in challenging the conduct of Western governments in fighting terror.
Day-long shootout in Rio slum kills 1
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian soldiers and drug gang members engaged in a prolonged gunbattle in a Rio de Janeiro slum that killed at least one person Wednesday.
Traffic on a main highway halted at one point, with motorists sheltering behind cars and buses as soldiers and gang members traded gunfire.
The fighting calmed at nightfall, and authorities confirmed the death of one suspected gang member.
The violence broke out early Wednesday when rival gangs began fighting in the Mare complex of slums, which have been patrolled by government troops since April. Soldiers then intervened.
Mare is one of several impoverished areas in Rio where police or soldiers have tried to push out gangs and set up permanent posts as part of efforts to make Rio safer ahead of the 2016 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup, which took place this summer.
The police campaign has pushed the criminals out of many slums where they long ruled with impunity. Violence was widespread in the slums before the campaign began.
12 killed, dozens hurt in India train crash
LUCKNOW, India -- A train overshot a stop signal and plowed into another express passenger train in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state, killing 12 people and injuring dozens, officials said Wednesday.
Three coaches of the packed Barauni Express derailed and toppled over after the Krishak Express crashed into it near Gorakhpur city station late Tuesday, said Madhuresh Kumar, an Indian railways general manager.
The bodies of 12 passengers were pulled out of the Barauni's mangled coaches, he said, adding that 44 people from that train were hospitalized with injuries. The driver of the Krishak Express also was injured, but it was unclear whether anyone else aboard his train was hurt.
Railway services across northern India were disrupted, and several trains were diverted to alternative routes, officials said.
Experts will investigate whether the train overshot the signal due to mechanical failure or human error, a railway spokesman said.
A Section on 10/02/2014