Around the world
North America Authorities say 24 people stranded on a roller coaster have been rescued from near the top of the ride at Six Flags America in Maryland. Prince George’s County Fire officials say it took about five hours to rescue 17 adults and seven children from The Joker’s Jinx roller coaster. Assistant fire chief Paul Gomez says the riders were sitting upright. A few had cramps, back pain and dehydration, but there were no major injuries. A Six Flags America spokesman said in a statement that it is not yet clear what caused the ride to stop but that it has a computerised safety system that “performed as it is designed to”. Six Flags’ website says the ride goes 96.56 km/h and upside down four times.
Asia/Oceania Dozens of potential war crimes committed by American forces in Afghanistan have gone uninvestigated by Washington because of a “deeply flawed” military justice system, Amnesty International alleges today. The human rights group says thousands of Afghans have been killed or injured by US forces, who are due to pull out of the country at the end of this year, but have little chance of forcing the Pentagon to hold those responsible to account where deaths were unlawful. In an 84-page report published today, Amnesty calls on the US to end what it says is a culture of secrecy surrounding military discipline and consider replacing its “commander-driven” investigations, which rely on soldiers’ own accounts of their actions, with civilian-managed courts martial. The organisation studied 10 American military operations which resulted in the deaths of 140 civilians between 2009 and 2013 but said none had resulted in prosecutions, despite apparent evidence of atrocities. It said that since 2009, there had been just six trials of US personnel for the alleged illegal killing of Afghan civilians.
Europe Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott will hold high level talks with his Dutch counterpart and military officials in the Netherlands on how the “murderers” who shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 can best be brought to justice. Abbott has landed at Rotterdam Airport for a whistle-stop 24-hour visit which kicked off with talks with the Dutch defence chief last night. The trip will conclude with a bilateral meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte today. Poland plans to build a new canal to bypass a stretch of coastline controlled by Russia, as the country tries to become less dependent on its neighbour. The canal, which will cost an estimated £167 million ($331 million), will link the Vistula Lagoon in the northeast of Poland with the Baltic Sea. All sea traffic from the lagoon and the flourishing port of Elblag now has to travel through Russian waters to get to the Baltic. The canal will cut through a strip of land no wider than 2km that separates the lagoon from the sea. The approval of its construction marks an about-turn for Poland’s centre-right government led by Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister. A year ago he rejected plans for the canal, but the war in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s apparent willingness to meddle in the affairs of its neighbours appear to have changed the government’s mind.
Middle East Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s Prime Minister, secured a historic win in the country’s first presidential elections, cementing his role as the nation’s leader for the next five years. Erdogan had 52 per cent, 13 points ahead of his main opponent, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, a diplomat. “I hope the final whistle will be blown by the referee, but the stands have made their decision. The people have shown their will,” Erdogan told supporters at a convention centre in Istanbul. The election marks the first stage of an ambitious plan by Erdogan to transform Turkey’s government into one led by presidential politics, with himself as leader. Traditionally, the role of Turkish President has been largely ceremonial and subordinate to the Prime Minister. But Erdogan, 60, who, according to the rules of his own Justice and Development Party must step down as Prime Minister at the end of his current third term, made no secret of his ambitions. He has promised that the President’s responsibilities will be “increased” and has highlighted that it is only convention, not the constitution, that puts “limits” on that role. About 53 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots at more than 160,000 stations. Early reports put the turnout at 72.5 per cent, lower than the 90 per cent for municipal election earlier this year.