COLU @ CONCEPTS

Image copyright GETTY IMAGES Image caption Robert Scoble is a regular fixture at technology conferences Renowned tech consultant and commentator Robert Scoble has apologised after multiple accusations of inappropriate behaviour towards women. In  a post on Medium , journalist Quinn Norton accused Mr Scoble of groping her body at a technology conference in the early 2010s. Another woman, former colleague Michelle Greer, also said Mr Scoble made unwanted advances, touching her leg during a conference in February 2010. On Facebook, Mr Scoble said: "I know that apologies are not enough and that they don’t erase the wrongs of the past or the present.” He became a well-known figure in the technology business while working at Microsoft during the 2000s, where he wrote a blog discussing the latest technology. From here he moved on to other firms such as Fast Company, cloud provider RackSpace, and most recently UploadVR. UploadVR was sued earlier this year for gender discrimina...

Image copyright REUTERS Image caption Security forces guarded the scene after Friday's Kabul attack Some 60 people have been killed in two separate attacks on mosques in Afghanistan, officials say. A gunman entered a Shia Muslim mosque in Kabul before opening fire and detonating an explosive, killing at least 39 worshippers. An attack on a Sunni Muslim mosque in Ghor province killed 20 people. So-called Islamic State (IS) said it carried out the attack on Kabul's Imam Zaman mosque, but provided no evidence for the claim. The group has previously targeted Shia mosques across Afghanistan. The new attacks bring to at least 176 the number of people killed in bomb attacks across the country this week. The new 'Great Game' in Afghanistan Grief and anger at Kabul bomb devastation Life in Afghanistan under the militants One eyewitness told the BBC that the scene at the Imam Zaman mosque, in the west of Kabul, looked like a "front line". Another ...

Chilean poet Pablo Neruda did not die of prostate cancer, forensic experts have said. The Nobel Laureate was said to have died of cancer in 1973, less than two weeks after a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. But his former driver Manuel Araya maintains he actually died after being poisoned by the secret service. New tests on Neruda's remains have now confirmed he did not die of cancer, but have yet to reveal the actual cause. The mystery of Pablo Neruda's death Dr Aurelio Luna told a press conference the experts were "100% convinced" that the death certificate "does not reflect the reality of the death". The poet was suffering from prostate cancer, but it was not life-threatening - leading the 16 international experts to conclude a third party could have possibly been involved. They will now carry out tests on a toxin found in his remains, which were exhumed on a judge's orders in 2013. It could be up to a year before the re...

Image copyright AFP Image caption Police said no motive had been established Several people have injured by a man wielding a knife in the German city of Munich, according to police. Officers are searching for the attacker, who fled the scene. The motive for the assault is unknown, a police statement said. Residents nearby have been told to stay indoors while the suspect remains at large. None of the victims suffered life threatening injuries, police said. They described the suspect as a man in his 40s who fled on a black bicycle. Source: www.bbc.com 

Image copyright AFP/GETTY Image caption Critics say health services have collapsed under Mr Mugabe's rule The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe as a "goodwill ambassador" to help tackle non-communicable diseases. New WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Zimbabwe for its commitment to public health. But critics say that during Mr Mugabe's 37-year rule Zimbabwe's health services have deteriorated, with staff regularly unpaid and medicines in short supply. Dr Tedros, who is Ethiopian, is the first African to lead the WHO. He was elected with a mandate to tackle perceived politicisation in the organisation. Dr Tedros replaced Margaret Chan, who stepped down from her 10-year post in June. Image copyright AFP/GETTY Image caption Dr Tedros was elected to reform the WHO Controversial decision Imogen Foulkes, BBC News, Geneva The appointment of 93-year-old Robert Mugabe will cause astonishment amo...

Image copyright MINISTERIO DA JUSTICA Image caption Brazilian police used special software provided by the United States Police in Brazil say they have arrested 108 people in the biggest operation ever against paedophiles in Latin America. Suspects were arrested in 24 states and the capital, Brasilia. Justice Minister Torquato Jardim said those detained were part of a ring that shared pornographic images of children through computers and mobile phones. The operation comes at the end of a six-month investigation, which involved US and European immigration officials. Investigators have found more than 150,000 files containing disturbing images. They were accessed through the dark web, a part of the internet not reached by most search engines. Among those arrested were retired policemen, civil servants and people in charge of football youth clubs. Image copyright AGENCIA BRASIL Image caption More than 1,000 officers were involved in the operation Mr Jardim said the paedoph...

Image copyright NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Image caption The pair went missing in the arid desert park during the hottest of the summer A California couple who went missing in July in the Joshua Tree National Park are believed to have died in a murder-suicide pact, police have said. Rachel Nguyen, 20 and Joseph Orbeso, 22, were first discovered on 15 October by a search and rescue party that included Mr Orbeso's father. Police said evidence at the scene suggested that Mr Orbeso shot Ms Nguyen before turning the gun on himself. It appeared they were low on food and without water, an official said. San Bernardino sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman told the BBC the couple was found under a tree and appeared to be embracing each other. She said Mr Orbeso and Ms Nguyen had positioned their clothing to cover their lower legs to protect themselves from the heat. Investigators found a handgun registered to Mr Orbeso at the scene, she added. "The circumstances are reall...

Image copyright AFP/GETTY IMAGES Image caption Catalonia's leader Carles Puigdemont says the region has won the right to break away from Spain The drive for independence that delivered the banned 1 October referendum did not begin under his leadership. But such is his zeal for secession, that Catalonia's President Carles Puigdemont is prepared to risk its existing autonomy to achieve it. In defiance of the law and Spain's constitution, he has pushed forward in the hope of international recognition. It may well be a doomed journey in the eyes of Spain's allies in Brussels and Washington - but the meek-looking village baker's son from Girona is undaunted. Spanish lessons Born in Amer in 1962, he grew up under the dictatorship of Gen Francisco Franco and was taught in Spanish at a church-run boarding school, but spoke Catalan at home like others of his generation. Joan Matamala, a few years his senior at the school, remembers the boy everyone got on with,...