China: Boy, Six, Has Eyes Gouged Out By Woman

A six-year-old boy is recovering in hospital after his eyes were gouged out in an horrific attack in China.

The child, who has been named as Guo Bin, went missing from his home in the country's Shanxi Province on Saturday evening. He had failed to return home for dinner after playing outside.

Five hours later he was discovered by his parents with both eyes missing.

The young boy’s mother, who has spoken to local media, said she found her son near their home.

His face was covered with blood but he was conscious and spoke to her, reportedly claiming that he had been attacked by a female who spoke with a strange accent.

An initial suggestion in the Chinese media claimed the youngster’s eyes were found nearby with the cornea missing.

Uncorroborated reports said that the attack may have been connected to China's illegal trafficking of human organs.

However, local police have now said they do not believe the attack was in any way related to organ trafficking and that while the eyes were found near the boy, the cornea had not been removed.

It remains possible that authorities are denying the link to trafficking in order to cover-up an embarrassing problem.

A reward of RMB100,000 (£10,000) has been offered to anyone with information about the attack.

The director of Shanxi Eye Hospital, where the boy is being treated, has said he is now making a recovery.

A local police chief, named only as Lui, said he could not speculate on a motive for the attack.

Hackers: Pro-Assad Group Targets US Websites

Pro-Assad regime hackers claim to have targeted leading US media websites, shutting down the New York Times for 30 minutes.

The Syrian Electronic Army said it had hacked sites belonging to Twitter and the Huffington Post, making them unstable, as well as closing down the NYT.

The NYT attributed the meltdown to a "malicious external attack".

When users attempted to visit www.nytimes.com, the only message that appeared was "Hacked by the SEA".

Meanwhile, Twitter confirmed the hacksaying "viewing of images and photos was sporadically impacted", but added that "no user information was affected".

The SEA boasted in a tweet: "Hi @Twitter, look at your domain, its owned by #SEA :)"  

While the Twitter site continued to function as normal, the SEA claimed to have changed domain details, redirecting social media traffic to its own server.

The shadowy hacker collective has also claimed to have changed domain details belonging to the Huffington Post news site.

The latest attacks come weeks after the Twitter feed of the Associated Press news agency was targeted.

The feed falsely reported that Barack Obama was injured in an attack on the White House.

The Washington Post website was also hacked this month in an attack blamed on the same group.

The SEA infiltrates organisations it perceives to be aligned against the Assad government.

The string of cyber attacks comes as US leaders have publicly discussed the possibility of launching an attack against the Assad government.

The potential for military action comes amid claims Mr Assad deployed chemical weapons on the Syrian people, two years into the nation's civil war.

Syria Crisis: Cameron Holds 'War Talks'

David Cameron will hold war talks at Downing Street today as military commanders draw up plans for missile strikes against Syria.

Mr Cameron will chair a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) after insisting the West must not "stand idly by" in the wake of Syria's suspected chemical attack.

In talks by telephone last night with US President Barack Obama, the two leaders agreed that "all the information available confirmed a chemical weapons attack had taken place", said a Downing Street spokesperson.

"They both agreed they were in no doubt that the Assad regime was responsible," added the spokesperson.

United Nations weapons inspectors set off on Wednesday morning to the site of the alleged attacks, a day after suspending their mission over safety concerns.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has ramped up the pressure to act on "barbarous" Syria by setting out the case for action in a national newspaper comment piece.

He maintained that "global security" was at stake and that the world "cannot allow the use of chemical weapons in the 21st century to go unchallenged". 

The NSC is expected to discuss the intelligence gathered by United Nations inspectors from their visit to Mouadamiya, the site of  last week's suspected chemical weapons attack that allegedly killed more than 1,300.

General Sir Nick Houghton, chief of the defence staff, is also expected to outline a series of options for targeted attacks against Syria at the meeting 

He will tell ministers the UK could assist US forces with cruise missile strikes launched from submarines, warships and aircraft against targets such as command and control bunkers.

Tomorrow, Parliament will be recalled for a final vote on what action should be taken.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Cameron said action must be "proportionate, have to be legal, would have to specifically be about deterring the use of chemical weapons".

It is understood the most likely military response would be a one-off or limited guided missile strikes on Syrian military targets fired from US Navy warships.

The US Navy is repositioning several vessels, including four cruise missile-carrying destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as a missile-firing submarine.

Military experts suggested a British Trafalgar class submarine might also be a potential launch platform.

Mr Cameron said any intervention in Syria would not be about the conflict itself, but preventing the use of chemical weapons by any regime.

Decisions about British involvement have not been taken, he said yesterday, adding Parliament was the "right place to set out all of the arguments".

"Obviously this is a developing situation, as I say, decisions have not been taken, but we shouldn't stand by when we see this massive use of chemical weapons and appalling levels of suffering," he said.

"But I would say this to people - there is never 100% certainty, there is never one piece or several pieces of intelligence that give you absolute certainty.

"But what we know is this regime has huge stocks of chemical weapons. We know they have used them on at least 10 occasions prior to this last widescale use.

"We know they have both the motive and the opportunity whereas the opposition does not have those things and the opposition's chance of having used chemical weapons in our view is vanishingly small."

The NSC includes Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, Home Secretary Theresa May and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg among its members.

Labour leader Ed Miliband yesterday indicated that his party would consider supporting international action.

But he added that support was "only on the basis that it was legal, that it was specifically limited to deterring the future use of chemical weapons, and that any actions contemplated had clear and achievable goals."

And Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Britain would "set a very dangerous precedent indeed" if it stood back and failed to act.

While political momentum towards intervention mounts, the British public has yet to be persuaded.

A YouGov survey for The Sun revealed that nearly three-quarters of people oppose the deployment of British troops to Syria.

And a majority of 3-1 believe the Government should be bound by Parliament's vote tomorrow.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned MPs not to rush in their decision on whether to vote for miltary intervention in the Syria conflict.

The Most Rev Justin Welby said he feared the possible consequences of intervention saying they were "beyond description and horrible".

Miley Cyrus Performs In Bikini At MTV Awards

Justin Timberlake was the big winner at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) but it was Miley Cyrus' raunchy routine which stole the show.

She appeared on stage with a troupe of teddy bears before changing into a nude-coloured bikini and dancing seductively with Robin Thicke during a performance of his summer hit Blurred Lines.

Timberlake, whose much-anticipated reunion with his 'N-Sync band mates provided one of the highlights of the night, won the coveted Video of the Year gong for his track Mirrors.

"I don't deserve this award," the 32-year-old, who picked up a hat trick of other prizes, said. "But I'm not going to give it back."

One Direction, fresh from the world premiere of their movie This Is Us, won Best Song of the Summer, while Bruno Mars scooped two awards - Best Male Video for Locked Out Of Heaven and Best Choreography for Treasure.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift picked out a former boyfriend for praise as she won Best Female Video for I Knew You Were Trouble.

The singer, who split with One Direction's Harry Styles earlier this year, said: "I want to thank the person who inspired this song, who knows exactly who he is, because I got one of these. Thank you so much."

Lady Gaga changed costumes four times as she opened the New York ceremony, although her performance lacked the shock value of previous VMAs, most notably the 2010 show at which she wore a dress made of raw meat.

Katy Perry brought the event to a close, performing her new single Roar dressed as a boxer.

Facebook To Pay $20m Over 'Likes' Advertising

A judge has approved a deal in which Facebook will pay $20m (£13m) for using members "likes" as endorsements for advertisers.

The money is to be shared between lawyers, internet privacy rights groups and Facebook users who filed claims in the class-action lawsuit against the social media giant.

US district judge Richard Seeborg reasoned that the sum, a small fraction of the billions being sought in the case, was fair given the challenges of proving Facebook members were financially harmed or that signalling "likes" for products did not imply some form of consent.

Facebook's Sponsored Stories programme used members' names or likenesses to endorse ads without getting their permission, according to the legal filing.

Judge Seeborg estimated the size of the class represented in the suit as 150 million people, but noted that so few had filed claims that there was ample money in the settlement fund.

"The settlement as a whole provides fair, reasonable, and adequate relief to the class, in light of all the circumstances, including the low probability that a substantially better result would be obtained through continued litigation," the judge ruled.

The settlement calls for Facebook to modify its rules to give members greater control when it comes to how their information is used regarding Sponsored Stories.

"Sponsored Stories, in Facebook's view, does nothing more than take information users have already voluntarily disclosed to their "friends," and sometimes redisplays it to the same persons, in a column that also contains more traditional paid advertising," the judge wrote while detailing his decision.

"Plaintiffs faced a substantial burden in showing they were injured by the Sponsored Stories."

So few Facebook members have filed claims that those negotiating the settlement proposed paying out $15 to each person and having enough cash left over for lawyer fees and routing funds to internet privacy groups, according to the ruling.

An original settlement rejected by the judge recommended the same pool of money, but allocated none of it to Facebook members.

Bubonic Plague-Infected BBQ Marmot Kills Teen

A teenage boy has died of bubonic plague in Kyrgyzstan after reportedly eating an infected barbecued marmot.

More than 100 people - including 19 doctors - have been put in quarantine after the 15-year-old's death, health officials said.

The boy fell ill after eating the meal with family and friends in the small mountain village of Ichke-Zhergez, in eastern Kyrgyzstan, close to the border with Kazakhstan.

Health officials said the boy died in the Karakol regional hospital. His body was cremated and his remains were buried with "special precautions".

A statement from the country's health ministry said that an epidemic was "unlikely", Interfax reported.

The last recorded case of bubonic plague in Kyrgyzstan occurred 30 years ago, health minister Dinara Saginbayeva said.

"The form of the disease in the teenager is not conducive to a plague epidemic," she said.

Doctors are administering antibiotics in the area where the boy lived and are trying to track down anyone who may have eaten the food.

Bubonic plague is a bacterial infection that is a strain of the "Black Death", a virulent disease that killed tens of millions of people in 14th century Europe.

Primarily an animal disease, it is extremely rare in humans. It is normally transmitted by flea bite but can also be transmitted by exposure to the flesh of an infected animal.

Marmots are a natural carrier of the disease and were targeted for extermination in the Soviet Union.

But the authorities in Kyrgyzstan stopped poisoning them from 1982 onwards due to the costs involved, Interfax said.

Syria: UK Draws Up Plans For Military Action

Britain's Armed Forces are drawing up plans for military action against Syria after the alleged toxic gas attack, which is said to have killed more than 1,300 people.

Prime Minister David Cameron will continue talks with international leaders to agree a "proportionate response" that will "deter" Bashar Assad's regime from using toxic agents on the Syrian population, Downing Street said.

Number 10 indicated that a decision could be taken before the results of a report by UN weapons inspectors into the attack, which doctors say killed hundreds, produced but insisted any response would adhere to international law.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has already said the West could act on Syria even without full UN Security Council backing.    

Mr Hague declined to rule out action, such as targeted air strikes, being launched within days.

A reported build-up of military aircraft on British base RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus suggested that planning had reached a developed stage.

Any intervention in Syria would be "in accordance with international law and will be based on legal advice to the National Security Council and to the Cabinet", Mr Hague earlier stressed.

Mr Cameron returned early from a family holiday to prepare for Wednesday's National Security Council (NSC) meeting on a possible intervention in Syria.

Earlier US Secretary of State John Kerry said the alleged use of chemical weapons was "undeniable", and that the Obama administration would hold Damascus accountable for the "moral obscenity".

"Make no mistake, President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapon against the world's most vulnerable people," Mr Kerry said.

The US State Department has also postponed a meeting with Russian diplomats on Syria that was scheduled for this week because of America's ongoing review into alleged use of chemical weapons.

Russia - the Damascus regime's most powerful ally - said America's decision to postpone the meeting on the crisis at The Hague was a "serious disappointment" and warned that any use of force against Syria would have "catastrophic consequences".

"We call on our American colleagues and all members of the international community to show prudence, strict observance of international law, and above all, the fundamental principles of the UN Charter," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry has confirmed to Sky News that it is sending a plane to Syria today to take humanitarian aid in and expects to bring around 150 Russian citizens out.

Mr Assad denies using the chemical weapons and Moscow - which supplies arms to Syria - has backed claims that video footage of victims could be opposition propaganda.

UN weapons experts are carrying out a second day of investigations into the alleged attack in Damascus, after the inspectors braved sniper fire on Monday.

Despite this, the UN team collected some "valuable" biological and environmental samples but refused to accept other samples of blood and urine that had already been taken by medical workers.

Back in the UK, MPs are due back from their summer break next Monday but Labour and a growing number of backbench MPs from all parties - including many Tories - are demanding a chance to debate the situation more quickly.

Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander, told Sky News that MPs must be given a vote before any British military action in Syria.

But Mr Alexander said he hopes other options besides military intervention are being being considered by the UK, US and other countries.

"I don't rule out supporting the Government [on intervention], but I think it's incumbent on the Government to make its case, to produce the evidence, to answer questions and to allow Parliament to have its say," he said.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy, said it was vital to "take sides" against the Assad regime and in other regional disputes.

Mr Blair, who took the decision for British troops to join the US-led action in Iraq, wrote in the Times: "I know as one of the architects of policy after 9/11 the controversy, anguish and cost of the decisions taken.

"They have to be defeated. We should defeat them, however long it takes because otherwise they will not disappear. They will grow stronger until, at a later time, there will be another crossroads and this time there will be no choice."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said it was "inconceivable" to act before the UN inspectors had completed their work.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that North Korea tried to export gas masks to Syria but they were seized in Turkey along with arms and ammunitions, according to Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun.

After a tip-off from the US, Turkish officials in April seized 1,400 rifles and pistols and some 30,000 bullets as well as gas masks apparently for chemical protection, said the newspaper, which is known for its North Korea coverage.