Recaptured Drug Lord 'El Chapo' Goes Back To Jail

The notorious fugitive is being taken back to the same maximum-security prison he escaped from back in July, after using an elaborate tunnel which had been dug to his shower stall.

Handcuffed, Guzman was bundled into a military helicopter after being forced to face the media.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman is escorted by soldiers during a news conference

Announcing his detainment on Twitter, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto wrote: "Mission accomplished: We got him. I want to inform Mexicans that Joaquin Guzman Loera has been arrested." 

Guzman was captured after a shootout with Mexican marines in his home state of Sinaloa, according to reports.

Five of the drug lord's henchmen are believed to have been killed in the battle and one marine was injured, while six suspects were arrested following the dawn raid.

The marine's injuries were not life threatening.

Two armoured vehicles, eight long guns, one handgun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher by the squad who captured him.

Guzman humiliated the Mexican authorities when he broke out of his prison cell through the mile-long tunnel - and CCTV pictures of the escape showed him calmly leaving the compound.

The Mexican government announced it was offering a 60 million peso (£2.5m) reward for information leading to Guzman's capture.

Despite the huge bounty, Guzman appeared ready to taunt the authorities, with a blog that monitors Mexico's drug war publishing photos purportedly showing him flying in a plane and enjoying a beer since his escape.

The head of the Sinaloa drug cartel was said to have been injured in October while escaping from an attempt to recapture him by security forces.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration said it was "extremely pleased" by Guzman's recapture.

On Twitter, it said it saluted "the bravery involved in his capture".

The US Justice Department did not immediately comment on whether it would seek his extradition.

Guzman had previously evaded capture for years in the rugged mountains of Sinaloa state after he escaped from another maximum security prison in 2001.

China's giant Mao Zedong statue 'demolished'

Construction was reportedly funded by local entrepreneurs and finished in December after nine months of labour [File: Reuters]

A giant gold-painted statue of Communist China's founding father Mao Zedong has reportedly been demolished because it lacked government approval, just days after images of it were widely shared on social media.

Images of the statue of a seated Mao towering about 37 metres over empty fields in the central province of Henan made worldwide headlines this week.

But the $460,000 structure has been destroyed, the People's Net news portal cited local officials as saying on Friday, adding that the reason was "unclear".

The website is linked to the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party.

It cited reports from unspecified media as saying the likeness of the man who ruled China with an iron grip for nearly three decades until his death in 1976 "was not registered or approved" by the local government.

Pictures circulating online - which could not be immediately verified by the AFP news agency - showed a gaping hole in the rear of Mao's massive golden torso, and his head shrouded in black

Construction was reportedly funded by several local entrepreneurs and finished in December after nine months of labour, the HMR.cn portal said this week.

Despite being blamed for millions of deaths, Mao is still widely revered in China and credited with uniting the country.

Meanwhile, the Communist leadership tightly controls public discussion of history and seeks to use his legacy to shore up its support.

China's current President Xi Jinping has praised Mao as a "great figure" and revived some of his rhetoric and centralisation of power, while following the party's 1980s conclusion that he also made "mistakes".

Some internet users criticised the statue, pointing out its location in Henan, the centre of a famine in the late 1950s resulting from Mao's economic policies estimated to have killed as many as 40 million people.

"Have you forgotten about the Great Famine, building that?" asked one poster on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

Others questioned the statue's resemblance to the "Great Helmsman", who also launched the decade-long Cultural Revolution that saw violence and destruction nationwide.

Cologne dismisses police chief after New Year's Eve sexual assaults

Cologne's police chief was dismissed on Friday amid mounting criticism of his force's handling of a string of New Year's Eve sexual assaults and robberies.

The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia said it was sending 60-year-old Wolfgang Albers into early retirement.

The state's interior minister, Ralf Jaeger, said the move was "necessary to restore public trust and the Cologne police's ability to act, with a view to upcoming major events." Cologne's annual Carnival takes place next month.

Albers had faced mounting criticism for the police's handling of the alleged New Year's Eve attacks on women by small groups of men described as being of "Arab or North African origin."

d to mention the assaults around Cologne's main station in their report the following morning, describing the New Year festivities as "largely peaceful."

Albers acknowledged the mistake earlier this week, but dismissed widespread criticism that officers were overwhelmed and reacted too slowly in protecting the women.

However, an internal police report widely published in German media on Thursday indicated strongly that police were overwhelmed, and described how women had to run through mobs of drunken men outside Cologne's main train station.

Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker suggested on Friday that police had held back information from her, including on where suspects in the crimes came from, and said in a statement that her "trust in the Cologne police leadership is significantly shaken." Albers rejected suggestions that police had deliberately withheld information.

However, he said after his removal that he understands Jaeger's decision. In a statement, Albers said that the events must be cleared up in detail and "the public debate surrounding me is liable to complicate and delay this work."

Earlier Friday, Germany's Interior Ministry said police have identified 18 asylum-seekers among 31 suspects in connection with the robberies and assaults.

They were detained by federal police on suspicion of committing crimes ranging from theft to assault, and in one case verbal abuse of a sexual nature, Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate told reporters in Berlin. They were believed to be among a group of up to 1,000 people in front of Cologne's main railway station on Thursday evening.

None of the 31 is currently suspected of committing sexual assaults — the aspect of the Cologne assaults that has prompted outrage in Germany over the past week.

Plate said the suspects were nine Algerians, eight Moroccans, five Iranians, four Syrians, two Germans and one person each from Iraq, Serbia and the United States.

Cologne police said Friday they have received a total of 170 criminal complaints related to New Year, including 120 of a sexual nature. In addition to the 31 suspects detained by federal officers, city police arrested two men from North Africa, ages 16 and 23, early Friday.

The incidents have triggered calls for tighter immigration laws, particularly from politicians opposed to Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy that allowed nearly 1.1 million refugees to enter the country last year.

Government spokesman Georg Streiter said the chancellor wants "the whole truth" about the events in Cologne, and that "nothing should be held back and nothing should be glossed over."

"It doesn't just harm our rule of law but also the great majority of completely innocent refugees who have sought protection" in Germany, he said.

Plate said authorities were investigating possible links to similar sexual assaults in other cities to see whether there had been any coordination. Swedish police said Friday that at least 15 young women reported being groped by groups of men on New Year's Eve in the city of Kalmar.

Cologne dismisses police chief after New Year's Eve sexual assaults

Cologne's police chief was dismissed on Friday amid mounting criticism of his force's handling of a string of New Year's Eve sexual assaults and robberies.

The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia said it was sending 60-year-old Wolfgang Albers into early retirement.

The state's interior minister, Ralf Jaeger, said the move was "necessary to restore public trust and the Cologne police's ability to act, with a view to upcoming major events." Cologne's annual Carnival takes place next month.

Albers had faced mounting criticism for the police's handling of the alleged New Year's Eve attacks on women by small groups of men described as being of "Arab or North African origin."

d to mention the assaults around Cologne's main station in their report the following morning, describing the New Year festivities as "largely peaceful."

Albers acknowledged the mistake earlier this week, but dismissed widespread criticism that officers were overwhelmed and reacted too slowly in protecting the women.

However, an internal police report widely published in German media on Thursday indicated strongly that police were overwhelmed, and described how women had to run through mobs of drunken men outside Cologne's main train station.

Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker suggested on Friday that police had held back information from her, including on where suspects in the crimes came from, and said in a statement that her "trust in the Cologne police leadership is significantly shaken." Albers rejected suggestions that police had deliberately withheld information.

However, he said after his removal that he understands Jaeger's decision. In a statement, Albers said that the events must be cleared up in detail and "the public debate surrounding me is liable to complicate and delay this work."

Earlier Friday, Germany's Interior Ministry said police have identified 18 asylum-seekers among 31 suspects in connection with the robberies and assaults.

They were detained by federal police on suspicion of committing crimes ranging from theft to assault, and in one case verbal abuse of a sexual nature, Interior Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate told reporters in Berlin. They were believed to be among a group of up to 1,000 people in front of Cologne's main railway station on Thursday evening.

None of the 31 is currently suspected of committing sexual assaults — the aspect of the Cologne assaults that has prompted outrage in Germany over the past week.

Plate said the suspects were nine Algerians, eight Moroccans, five Iranians, four Syrians, two Germans and one person each from Iraq, Serbia and the United States.

Cologne police said Friday they have received a total of 170 criminal complaints related to New Year, including 120 of a sexual nature. In addition to the 31 suspects detained by federal officers, city police arrested two men from North Africa, ages 16 and 23, early Friday.

The incidents have triggered calls for tighter immigration laws, particularly from politicians opposed to Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy that allowed nearly 1.1 million refugees to enter the country last year.

Government spokesman Georg Streiter said the chancellor wants "the whole truth" about the events in Cologne, and that "nothing should be held back and nothing should be glossed over."

"It doesn't just harm our rule of law but also the great majority of completely innocent refugees who have sought protection" in Germany, he said.

Plate said authorities were investigating possible links to similar sexual assaults in other cities to see whether there had been any coordination. Swedish police said Friday that at least 15 young women reported being groped by groups of men on New Year's Eve in the city of Kalmar.

China hospital demolished 'with people inside'

The Number Four Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Henan province was partially demolished on Thursday amid a land dispute, Xinhua news agency said.

Hospital staff told reporters equipment worth over $600,000 was damaged.

The case has sparked outrage in China, where forced demolitions are common.

Doctors told local media that several men in camouflage uniforms showed up at the hospital, in Huiji district, on Thursday, and began bulldozing the building.

Liu Chunguang, director of the hospital's radiology department, told Xinhua news agency he was examining a patient when the demolition took place.

"A gaping hole appeared - the patient was half-scared to death, and ran out."

Meanwhile, hospital official Yuan Fang told Xinhua that radiology equipment had been damaged and the hospital had had to suspend its activities, forcing many patients to switch hospitals.

"Burying the bodies of patients in rubble is extremely disrespectful to the deceased," he added.

The local Huiji district government said in a statement that the hospital's CT room and morgue were on land designated for a road expansion project, and that it had asked the hospital to dismantle the rooms themselves several times.

The hospital was evacuated prior to demolition, and there were no casualties, the statement added.

However, hospital officials said three doctors and a patient were in the building at the time of demolition, and that some hospital workers were injured when they tried to stop the demolition, Jinghua newsreported.

Syrians say world has forgotten them as winter sets in

As winter takes its toll on Syria, at least 400,000 people are cut off from food and medical supplies.

The government and opposition are laying siege to towns and villages, according to the United Nations.

Roughly 227,000 people are trapped by Syrian government forces in three key areas.

Eastern Ghouta, outside Damascus, is a rebel stronghold. About 176,000 people are said to be cut off there.

About 9,000 people are trapped in the Damascus suburb of Darayya and in the western town of Zabadani.

Madaya, to the south, has been under siege by allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government since July. The UN says 42,000 people are stuck there.

Abu Khalil is one of those trapped in Madaya. He says the world has been ignoring the plight of those affected.

"The situation is becoming so difficult," he told Al Jazeera.

"At least 26 more people have died from starvation and 50 others are now unconscious. We don't understand how the world could do nothing to resolve this crisis after witnessing such tragedy.

"Civilians, including women and children, are dying because of the use of this cowardly weapon."

Lebanon forcibly returns 100 stranded Syrian refugees

New travel restrictions in Turkey stranded the Syrian refugees inside Beirut's airport [File]

More than 100 Syrian refugees have been forcibly returned to their conflict-ridden country by Lebanese authorities after arriving at Beirut's airport en route to Turkey, Amnesty International said on Friday.

Another 150 Syrians are also at risk of imminent deportation.

Sherif Elsayed-Ali, head of refugee and migrants' rights at Amnesty, slammed the move to send them to Damascus in statement, saying "Lebanese authorities stooped to a shocking new low" while "putting these people in mortal danger".

"This is an outrageous breach of Lebanon's international obligations to protect all refugees fleeing bloodshed and persecution in Syria. The Lebanese government must halt all further deportations of refugees from Syria immediately," he said.

The UK-based rights group also said Lebanese authorities are planning to send back another 150 refugees, who have been stranded at Rafik Hariri International Airport because of new Turkish entry restrictions imposed on Friday.

"They were due to depart on Thursday but were unable to leave," Elsayed-Ali said.

According to the Reuters news agency, an airport official said about 400 Syrians transiting through Beirut were prohibited from boarding flights to Turkey with its new restrictions, part of efforts to stem the flow of refugees into Europe.

Elsayed-Ali added: "The new visa regulations in Turkey present yet another hurdle for Syrians desperate to seek sanctuary from the conflict, and show what devastating consequences such restrictions can have for refugees."

Turkey is home to more than 2.2 million Syrians, the world's largest refugee population.