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A former German infantry commander has gone on trial in Munich for a Nazi war crime, in what is expected to be one of the last cases of its kind.



Josef Scheungraber, 90, is accused of ordering the killing of 14 civilians in a Tuscan village in 1944.

He has previously been sentenced in absentia by an Italian military court to life in prison.

Scheungraber "completely and thoroughly denies the accusations in the charge sheet" said his lawyer.

Outside the courtroom, dozens of demonstrators held banners calling for Scheungraber to be put behind bars.

Some have been outraged that he has only been put on trial now.

He has lived for decades as a free man, and served on the town council in Ottobrunn, outside Munich.

He ran a furniture shop, attended German veterans' marches and recently received an award for municipal service.

Retaliation

Scheungraber wore a traditional Bavarian suit to the proceedings, which he followed through a hearing aid.

The court has determined that, despite his age, he is fit to be tried, though he will be allowed regular breaks.

The court heard how events unfolded 26 June, 1944.

German troops are alleged to have shot dead a 74-year-old woman and three men in the street before forcing 11 others into a farmhouse which they then blew up. A 15-year-old boy survived the attack with serious injuries.

The massacre was allegedly in retaliation for an attack by Italian partisans that left two German soldiers dead.

Scheungraber said in his statement that he had not given an order for the killings and was not at the scene of the crime.

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[John]

Are they still on about this?

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Thanks for the news!

[JohnCenaFan28]

The wing flaps on a plane that crashed in Madrid last month were not open properly at take-off, a draft preliminary report has concluded.



Investigators found that the pilots were unaware of the problem because a cockpit warning alarm did not go off, leading Spanish newspapers reported.

The Spanair plane plunged to the ground shortly after take-off, killing 154 people on board.

It was the deadliest air crash in Spain in 25 years.

Investigations into the crash are continuing, with no firm conclusions yet made about whether the disaster was the result of technical fault or human error.

Cockpit recordings

The MD-82 jet, which was preparing to fly to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, had aborted a previous take-off attempt before it crashed.

The draft report of the investigating committee, leaked to Spanish newspapers, details how the aircraft crashed when it attempted to take off following a brief stop for technicians to correct a fault in a temperature gauge.

The pilots had detected the high temperature as they readied the plane for take-off, having already deployed the wing flaps, the plane's black box recorder showed. They aborted the take-off to get the temperature gauge looked at by technicians, the draft report says.

By the time the plane resumed its position on the runway, the flaps - which make it easier for aircraft to get off the ground at take-off speeds - had been retracted, data from the black box is said to show.

The MD-82 plane is equipped with sensors intended to warn pilots whether flaps are correctly deployed before take-off.

However, the draft report suggests no warning signal sounded in the cockpit before the pilots accelerated the plane down the runway for the ill-fated take-off attempt.

Deadly precedent

The draft report said that Spanair did not rigorously follow advice from the plane's manufacturers to check the flap deployment warning signal.

Following an MD-82 crash in the US city of Detroit in 1987, which killed 154 people, McDonnell-Douglas (now part of Boeing) advised that flap and slats indicator systems be checked before each flight.

However, Spanair only carried out checks on the system before the first flight of each day or when the pilot and co-pilot was changed, the draft report said.

The pair in control of the plane had already taken it from Barcelona to Madrid on the morning of the accident without incident, and were not under orders to check the systems before beginning their next flight, the draft report said.

Investigators have not released any official statement on the disaster, and Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told Spanish TV the government would not comment until the investigation had been completed.

"In my experience an accident doesn't happen for a single reason," he said.

"We are going to wait for the report to be finished to find out what happened because there are many theories," Mr Rubalcaba added.

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[JohnCenaFan28]

Bolivian troops have arrested the governor of a northern province wracked by deadly anti-government violence.



Leopoldo Fernandez, an opponent of President Evo Morales, is accused of backing violence in Pando, in which some 16 people died.

Last weekend Mr Morales declared a state of emergency in Pando.

The region is among several opposed to his plans to redistribute wealth and giving a greater voice to Bolivia's indigenous community.

Government troops who remain in control of the state capital of Pando, Cobija, moved to detain the governor on Tuesday, according to reports.

Mr Fernandez, who was arrested alongside one other local politician, reportedly put up no resistance as he was transferred to Cobija aiport before being taken to Bolivia's main city, La Paz.

Truce hope

Pando is a remote northern region of Bolivia situated in the Amazon basin on the borders with Peru and Brazil.

Mr Morales' central government accused Leopoldo Fernandez of hiring hitmen who killed at least 16 farmers on their way to a pro-government rally.

The authorities have asked for a 30-year prison sentence if Mr Fernandez is convicted. He denies the charges.

Up to about 100 people remain missing after the recent violence, the Efe news agency says, the scale of which prompted the president to send in troops to secure Cobija.

The violence subsided and the blockades were lifted as the two sides began negotiations, but many of those who oppose the government simply do not believe the president, says the BBC's South America correspodent, Daniel Schweimler.

They blame the government and its indigenous supporters for instigating the violence, he adds.

There were reports on Tuesday of a potential truce with Mr Morales that could end the violence.

The governor of Tarija, in the south of Bolivia, said he expected to sign a deal with the president, Reuters reported.

On Monday, the leaders of nine South American nations backed Mr Morales at an emergency summit in Chile.

Mr Morales has likened the unrest in opposition-controlled regions of his country to an attempted coup.

But the unrest, in which protesters have blocked roads and occupied public buildings, represents the most serious challenge to Mr Morales since he took office almost three years ago, correspondents say.

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[JohnCenaFan28]

Pakistan's army spokesman has made clear that its forces will not tolerate incursions into Pakistani territory.



His remarks come a day after Pakistani troops were reported to have fired shots into the air to stop US troops crossing into South Waziristan.

Tension is rising in Pakistan over an increase in US attacks along the border with Afghanistan.

America's top military commander, Adm Michael Mullen, is in Pakistan on an unannounced visit, the Pentagon says.

He is due to meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani to discuss the border operations, officials say.

Meanwhile, British Justice Secretary Jack Straw has said operations along the border should be done "in a way that is not counterproductive".

"We believe that these matters have to be subject to consent of the Pakistan government because Pakistan is a sovereign nation," he told the BBC after talks in Islamabad.

On Monday, there were reports of nine US helicopters landing on the Afghan side of the border and US troops attempting to cross into South Waziristan.

The tribal region is one of the main areas from which Islamist militants launch attacks into Afghanistan.

Locals said seven US helicopter gunships and two troop-carrying Chinook helicopters landed in the Afghan province of Paktika near the Zohba mountain range.

US troops from the Chinooks then tried to cross the border. As they did so, Pakistani paramilitary soldiers at a checkpoint opened fire into the air and the US troops decided not to continue forward, local Pakistani officials say.

Pakistan's military confirmed firing but denied that Pakistani troops were involved.

Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told the Associated Press on Tuesday that "no incursion is to be tolerated".

But he stressed to the BBC that no specific orders had been given to open fire if US troops crossed the border from Afghanistan.

Diplomatic fury

It emerged last week that US President George W Bush has in recent months authorised military raids against militants inside Pakistan without prior approval from Islamabad.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says there is a growing American conviction that Pakistan is either unwilling or unable to eliminate militant sanctuaries in its border area.

There have been a number of missile attacks aimed at militants in Pakistan territory in recent weeks.

Pakistan reacted with diplomatic fury when US helicopters landed troops in South Waziristan on 3 September. It was the first ground assault by US troops in Pakistan.

Locals in the Musa Nikeh area said American soldiers attacked a target with gunfire and bombs, and said women and children were among some 20 civilians who died in the attack.

On Monday, the tribesmen say they grabbed their guns and took up defensive positions after placing their women and children out of harm's way.

Pakistan's army has warned that the aggressive US policy will widen the insurgency by uniting the tribesmen with the Taleban.

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Thanks for the news!

[JohnCenaFan28]

At least 19 people have been killed in a riot at a prison in Mexico - the second outbreak of violence at the jail in less than a week, officials say.

Another 12 people were injured when violence broke out at the La Mesa prison in Tijuana, near the US border.

Family members were quoted as saying inmates were protesting at their treatment since a riot on Sunday which led to at least three inmates' deaths.

About 200 inmates were being moved to other jails following Wednesday's riot.

The authorities had regained control of the prison and were increasing security, Baja California Governor Jose Osuna said.

Mass protest

"Up to the last count, there are 19 dead and 12 wounded," Daniel de la Rosa, Baja California's state police chief, told a news conference on Thursday.

Hundreds of family members have been gathering outside the prison since Sunday's riot, which destroyed large parts of the prison.

At least three inmates died in the first riot - which was reportedly sparked by the death of an inmate during a search for drugs and weapons - although some reports put the total at four.

Relatives said the second riot broke out because inmates had not been given any food or water since Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

They have also reportedly accused the authorities of lying about Sunday's events.

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[JohnCenaFan28]

Senior Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has voiced doubts about Sarah Palin's qualifications for the vice-presidency.



John McCain's running mate "doesn't have any foreign policy credentials", Mr Hagel told the Omaha World-Herald.

Mr Hagel was a prominent supporter of Mr McCain during his 2000 bid for the US presidency, but has declined to endorse either candidate this year.

He was opposed to the Iraq War, and recently joined Mr McCain's rival Barack Obama on a Middle East trip.

'Stop the nonsense'

"I think it's a stretch to, in any way, to say that she's got the experience to be president of the United States," Mr Hagel told the Omaha World-Herald newspaper.

And he was dismissive of the fact that Mrs Palin, the governor of Alaska, has made few trips abroad.

"You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don't know what you can say. You can't say anything."

Mr Hagel also criticised the McCain campaign for its suggestion that the proximity of Alaska to Russia gave Mrs Palin foreign policy experience.

"I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, 'I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia'," he said.

"That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."

BBC North America editor Justin Webb says Mr Hagel's opinion of Mrs Palin will have an effect on independent voters.

A senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr Hagel was a close ally of Mr McCain, but the two men parted company over the decision to go to war in Iraq.

Mr Hagel skipped this year's Republican National Convention in favour of a visit to Latin America.

Mr Hagel's decision to accompany Mr Obama this summer on a trip to Iraq and Israel, as part of a US Congressional delegation, led to speculation that he would throw his support behind the Democratic nominee.

However, a spokesman for the Nebraska senator insisted in August that "Senator Hagel has no intention of getting involved in any of the campaigns and is not planning to endorse either candidate".

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