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North Korean defector found to have 'enormous parasites'

By Andreas Illmer
BBC News

A North Korean soldier who was shot while fleeing across the border has an extremely high level of parasites in his intestines, his doctors say.

The defector crossed the demilitarised zone on Monday, but was shot several times by North Korean border guards.

Doctors say the patient is stable - but "an enormous number" of worms in his body are contaminating his wounds and making his situation worse.

His condition is thought to give a rare insight into life in North Korea.

"I've never seen anything like this in my 20 years as a physician," South Korean doctor Lee Cook-jong told journalists, explaining that the longest worm removed from the patient's intestines was 27cm (11in) long.

How do you get a parasite?

Humans can get parasites through eating contaminated food, by being bitten by an insect or by the parasite entering through the skin. In the case of the North Korean defector, the first case is most likely. Parasites which enter the body via contaminated food are often worms.

The North still uses human faeces as fertilisers. If these faeces are untreated and fertilise vegetables that are later eaten uncooked, the parasites get into the mouth and the intestines of the person.

While some don't cause any severe symptoms, others can be life-threatening, explains Prof Peter Preiser from the School of Biological Sciences at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

"What they all do is take nutrients away from your body," he told the BBC. "So [even] if most of them might go unnoticed, they all indicate a poor health status. To put it simply: people who have parasites are not healthy."

What does it tell us about N Korea's standards of health?

"North Korea is a very poor country and like any other poor country it has serious health problems," Prof Andrei Lankov of Kookmin University in Seoul told the BBC.

In 2015 South Korean researchers studied the health records of North Korean defectors who had visited a hospital in Cheonan between 2006 and 2014.They found that they showed higher rates of chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C, tuberculosis and parasite infections, compared to South Koreans.

"I don't know what is happening in North Korea, but I found many parasites when examining other defectors," Professor Seong Min of Dankook University Medical School was quoted by the Korea Biomedical Review as saying.

But Prof Lankov points out that compared with other countries with a similar per capita income - like Bangladesh or many African countries - the population in North Korea is healthier than one would expect. The country's life expectancy is well above average considering the level of economic poverty, he says.

"North Korea does not have the resources to have a modern medical system," he says. "Its doctors are relatively poorly trained and have to work with primitive equipment."

Are the parasites endangering the soldier?

Yes. Considering that he is already in a critical condition, they are making a bad situation much worse. The soldier was shot at least six times when North Korean border guards opened fire on him as he ran across the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom to the South Korean side.

The young soldier was rushed by helicopter to a hospital in South Korea and has undergone emergency surgery.Doctors say there is a severe contamination of the wounds by both parasites and faeces.

"We are paying close attention to prevent possible complications," surgeon Lee Cook-jong told reporters, explaining that "an enormous number of parasites" including roundworms had been found in the small intestine.

If the intestines are disrupted and parasites are released into the body cavity, they can be a lot more dangerous and much more complicated to treat. Also, he is likely to have had the parasites for a long time. This means "that patient will generally be in a weaker state so any wounds and surgery will become more dangerous," explains Prof Preiser.

Is this a problem particular to North Korea?

Parasites, especially worms, are thought to be widespread in North Korea. However, they also affect many developing countries where diets include uncooked vegetables fertilised with faeces.

There are ways to treat faeces so they can be used as a safe fertiliser, but many poor countries neglect to do so. Prof Lankov says this seems to be the case in North Korea.The poor health and nutrition has widespread consequences "but North Korea does not admit this because they fear this will affect their image too much".Should there ever be a reunification of the two Koreas though, there would be massive health problems for officials to deal with for decades to come, Prof Lankov warns.

Toto Riina, Mafia 'boss of bosses', dies in jail aged 87

Notorious Sicilian Mafia "boss of all bosses" Salvatore "Toto" Riina has died from cancer in jail, aged 87.

Riina was serving 26 life sentences and is believed to have ordered more than 150 murders.

The head of the feared Cosa Nostra spent nearly a quarter of a century on the run before being jailed in 1993. He ordered more murders from jail.

As well as kidney cancer, he was said to have been suffering from a heart condition and Parkinson's disease.

Riina had been in a medically induced coma and his family had been given special permission to visit him in the prisoners' wing of the hospital in Parma, northern Italy.

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How did Riina become the 'boss of bosses'?

Riina was born in 1930 to poor farmers in Corleone, Sicily - the birthplace of Don Corleone, the fictional Godfather in Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy.

His father was killed when he was 13 and at 19 he joined the local Mafia, committing murder to gain entry. He spent six years in prison.

When he got out, he helped local mobster Luciano Leggio kill Corleone's Mafia boss. Along with childhood friend Bernardo Provenzano, he then led a hit squad targeting Mafia boss Michele "the Cobra" Cavataio in Palermo, giving the Corleone clan a foothold in the Sicilian capital.

When Leggio was arrested in 1974, Riina became boss.

Under his leadership, the clan came to dominate the Cosa Nostra crime group in the 1970s, as its fortunes blossomed, buoyed by a booming trade trafficking heroin to North America.

He was a wanted man, but evaded justice for 24 years, remaining all the while on the island of Sicily.

What marked him out?

The Mafia is notorious for brutality, but Riina was the most savage of all, earning him the nickname "The Beast".

"He was the fiercest and the nastiest mobster in the mafia probably in history," Francesco Bongarra, a journalist with Italian news agency Ansa, told the BBC.

While his cruelty propelled him up the ranks it was also key to his downfall, and to a pivotal point in Mafia relations with the Italian state.

In 1981, Riina began a two-year drive dubbed "The Slaughter" to eliminate his rivals, causing many mobsters to fear for their own lives and those of their families.

Many broke their code of silence and began to co-operate with investigators, resulting in a breakthrough case which saw hundreds of mafiosos convicted.

Riina did not take this lying down. In 1992, within two months the two leading judges in the case, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, had been blown up.

But six months later, Riina was arrested.

What has happened since his incarceration?

In detention, Riina's savagery continued.

He ordered the murder of a 13-year-old boy kidnapped to try to prevent his father revealing information about the Mafia. The boy was strangled and his body dissolved in acid.

And, partly in protest at his arrest, his associates carried out a series of bombings in Rome, Milan and Florence in 1993, leaving 10 people dead.

Riina had been imprisoned under the "Article 41-bis prison regime" imposing tight security measures on Mafiosos intended to completely cut off prisoners from their criminal contacts.

The regime includes strictly limited visits from his family. Petitions for him to be released into house arrest for his last days were met with angry protests from the relatives of some of his many victims.

Earlier this year, Riina was recorded on a wiretap saying he "regrets nothing... They'll never break me, even if they give me 3,000 years" in jail, reported AFP news agency. And indeed he has never broken his silence.

Riina leaves behind a wife, Antonietta, and four children, including his eldest son, Giovanni, who is serving a life sentence in jail for four murders.

Zimbabwe latest: Defiant Mugabe makes first public appearance

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has made his first public appearance since the country's army took over on Wednesday.

He attended a graduation ceremony in the capital, Harare.

Mr Mugabe had been under house arrest for days. The army made its move after a power struggle over his successor.

The military said on Friday it was "engaging" with Mr Mugabe and would advise the public on the outcome of talks "as soon as possible".

Mr Mugabe's attendance at the graduation is an annual tradition but few expected to see him there, the BBC's Andrew Harding reports from Zimbabwe.

Mr Mugabe walked slowly up a red carpet and joined the crowd in singing the national anthem, then opened the graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe's Open University, where he is chancellor.

One of the people he conferred a degree upon was Marry Chiwenga, the wife of the general who detained him on Wednesday, the state broadcaster reports.

Neither the 93-year-old president's wife, Grace Mugabe, nor Education Minister Jonathan Moyo - an ally of hers whose house was reportedly raided by the military - were present.

The army acted after Mr Mugabe sacked Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week.

Mr Mnangagwa was seen as a potential successor and his sacking paved the way for Grace Mugabe - who is four decades younger than him - to take over the presidency instead.

It was thought she had left the country but it emerged on Thursday that she was at home with Mr Mugabe.

Bonds are hard to break

Analysis by Joseph Winter, BBC Online Africa editor

Although the army is obviously calling the shots in Zimbabwe, in public they still refer to Robert Mugabe as "his excellency, the president" and even "commander-in-chief".

This is why he has been allowed to attend the graduation ceremony. This is partly to keep up the pretence that they have not staged a coup but they also have a genuine, deeply felt respect for him going back more than 40 years.

All of Zimbabwe's security chiefs have worked with Mr Mugabe since they fought together in the 1970s war of independence - and the bonds forged in that struggle are difficult to break.

In many ways, Zimbabwe's military remains the armed wing of Zanu-PF, as it was when they were all rebels fighting white-minority rule in the then Rhodesia.

Furthermore, in Zimbabwean culture, the elderly are treated with respect and no-one wants to be seen to be treating a 93-year-old in an undignified manner, especially a man even opposition figures refer to as the "father of the nation".

How did we get here?

Military vehicles were spotted on roads leading to the Zimbabwean capital Harare on Tuesday, sparking rumours that something was afoot.

Later, soldiers seized the headquarters of Zimbabwe's national broadcaster ZBC and loud explosions and gunfire were heard.

Major General Sibusiso Moyo then read out a statement on national television, assuring the nation that President Mugabe and his family were safe.

The military was only targeting what he called "criminals" around the president, he said, denying that there had been a coup.

On Thursday Mr Mugabe was pictured smiling as he took part in talks with an army general and South African government ministers at State House but sources suggested he might be resisting pressure to resign.

What's the reaction in the country?

Zimbabweans have been posting on Facebook and Twitter that there has been no dramatic effect on normal life.

People say that shops have opened as normal but there are few people on the streets of the capital.

Some Zimbabweans spoken to by the BBC have welcomed the news, with one man expressing his thanks to the army for "taking out the tyrant".

What has the reaction been across Africa?

Botswana's President Ian Khama told Reuters news agency that regional leaders did not support Mr Mugabe staying in power, adding: "We are presidents, we are not monarchs"

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari called for calm and "respect for the constitution", and said that every attempt should be made to save the country from "political instability"

The African Union, a key regional bloc, said the takeover "seems like a coup" and demanded a return to constitutional order

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Rolling Stones: Police raid officials in Hamburg over free tickets

Police in Hamburg have raided a local authority and an events company over allegations free Rolling Stones tickets worth €10,000 ($11,800; £9,000) were given to local officials.

A hundred officials were given tickets after the district office approved the September concert, local reports said.
Staff at the Hamburg North district office told Der Spiegel it was "standard practice".
German officials are banned from accepting gifts.
The large number of officials at the concert had led to widespread criticism, Der Spiegel said.
More than 80,000 people attended the concert in September, with some reportedly paying €800 for a ticket on the black market.
Investigators examined computers at the district office and also raided the office of events firm FKP Scorpio following an anonymous tip-off, Die Welt said.
Hamburg North district office head Harald Rösler said the tickets were given to local politicians and office employees plus their partners, Pollstar reported.
He said staff had worked unpaid overtime, to organise the concert, which he said was the biggest ever to have taken place in the city.
FKP Scorpio said it was "unrealistic" to assume that free concert tickets could influence the authorisation process.
A company spokesperson praised the "good and very complex cooperation" with the district office and added that FKP Scorpio didn't mind if the recipients of the tickets had understood them to be a thank-you gesture, Der Spiegel reported.

House Republicans pass $1.4tn tax overhaul bill

House Republicans have passed a controversial overhaul of the US tax code that slashes corporate rates.

Thursday's vote came after US President Donald Trump made a rare visit to Congress to rally lawmakers around the tax overhaul plan.
The Senate is working to build support for its own version of the bill, but one Republican has said he is a 'no'.
The plan also faces stiff opposition from the Democrats, who say it is a give-away to the wealthiest Americans.
The Republicans' attempts to pass the most significant overhaul of the US tax code since 1986 are a critical test for the party and president.
Republicans have called for changes to the code for years, but did not have support from the White House until President Trump's election.
He has served as cheerleader-in-chief for the measure, calling the bill a "big, beautiful Christmas present" for families.
The bill cleared the House 227-205, without Democratic support. Thirteen Republicans also voted no.
Representative Paul Ryan, who leads Republicans in the House, called it a "historic day".
The White House celebrated the House vote as a "big step".
"A simple, fair, and competitive tax code will be rocket fuel for our economy, and it's within our reach," the press secretary said in a statement after the vote. "Now is the time to deliver."

What's the next step?

Analysts also expect Republicans in the Senate to pass the measure without Democratic votes and later reconcile the two versions.
But Republicans are facing some opponents within their own party, which could endanger the legislation's prospects.
Without Democratic support, the Senate can afford to lose only two Republican votes.
On Wednesday Senator Ron Johnson, from Wisconsin, said he does not support the bill and does not think it does enough to help small businesses.

What's in the plan?

Broadly speaking, the Republican proposal would slash the corporate rate from 35% to 20% and change how overseas profits and payment from overseas subsidiaries are taxed.
It would also eliminate a range of targeted benefits for individuals and families, in favour of boosting the amount people can deduct from their tax bill.
Supporters say the bill offers tax relief and will boost economic growth.
Republicans estimate that the average American family of four will see their taxes lowered by $1,182 (£895).

Critics say the biggest beneficiaries will be large firms and very wealthy families. While many households could see lower taxes at first, over time some of those benefits would expire.
Opponents say the new version does not do enough to simplify the tax code for businesses - one of the original goals of the reform - and they say the proposal is fiscally irresponsible.
The House plan would cost more than $1.4tn to 2027, while the Senate version would cost $1.5tn, according to estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Republicans hungry for a win

By Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington
After a frustrating year, Republicans desperately need a win - and on Thursday they took a significant step toward one. Clearing a tax bill through the House is just the first leg of an arduous journey for conservatives, however, and even success may come with a price.
The Senate is working on its own set of reforms and, if it can pass them (no small task, given their narrow majority), both chambers of Congress will have to negotiate a compromise bill.
If the finished product looks anything like the drafts, Republicans could be handing a potent campaign issue to Democrats in next year's midterm elections.
While corporate tax cuts will satisfy the conservative donor class, the fact that they are permanent while the personal breaks expire in eight years will make for devastating Democratic campaign commercials.
Add in that the Senate version undermines Obamacare reforms, some cherished tax deductions will be eliminated and middle-class Americans in states with high local or state taxes could see their net federal taxes go up, and it's a recipe for pain for Republicans in at-risk congressional districts.
For now, however, it seems to be full speed ahead.

How do House and Senate bills compare?

Under the Senate bill, the corporate tax cut would not go into effect until 2019, instead of going into effect immediately.
The Senate bill would repeal the requirement that individuals have health insurance or face a fine. That is not included in the House plan.
The Senate bill does not allow households to deduct anything for state and local property taxes, a sticking point for lawmakers in high-cost states. The House plan allows families to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes.
The Senate bill doubles the amount of money exempt from inheritance tax. The House plan would also eventually eliminate the inheritance tax entirely.
The Senate bill maintains seven tax brackets, but cuts the top rate to 38.5%, while the House would slim the number of brackets to four, preserving a top rate of 39.5%.
The Senate preserves some popular benefits for people with medical expenses and student loans, which the House would eliminate.

Zimbabwe latest: Mugabe in crunch talks over his future

Zimbabwe's long-time President Robert Mugabe has been holding direct talks with the army over his future.

Pictures emerged of the 93-year-old meeting the army chief and two envoys from South Africa at his official residence in Harare.
The army put Mr Mugabe under house arrest on Wednesday after moving in to take control.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says Mr Mugabe must resign but sources suggest the president is resistant.

Why did the military take this action?

President Mugabe has been in control of Zimbabwe since it threw off white minority rule in 1980.
However, the power struggle over who might succeed him, between his wife Grace Mugabe and former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has split the ruling Zanu-PF party in recent months.
Last week, Mr Mugabe came down in favour of his wife, sacking Mr Mnangagwa, a veteran of Zimbabwe's anti-colonial struggle.
That proved too much for military leaders, who seized control of the country on Wednesday.

The story in full

So what's going on in Harare now?

It's very unclear.
Photos in the Zimbabwe Herald showed Mr Mugabe meeting army chief Gen Constantino Chiwenga and the two South African envoys from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) at State House in Harare.
Alongside them was Father Fidelis Mukonori, a Roman Catholic priest known to Mr Mugabe for years who has been brought in to mediate.
Sources close to the talks say Mr Mugabe is refusing to stand down voluntarily before next year's planned elections.

"He is refusing to step down. I think he is trying to buy time," one source close to the army leadership told the AFP news agency.
Zanu-PF officials had earlier suggested Mr Mugabe could remain nominally in power until the party congress in December, when Mr Mnangagwa would be formally installed as party and national leader.

What do South Africa and the region want?

South Africa is hosting millions of Zimbabweans who fled after the country's economy crashed in 2008. It has a special interest in seeing stability restored.
South African Defence Minister Nosiviwe Maphisa-Nqakula and State Security Minister Bongani Bongo are the envoys meeting Mr Mugabe on behalf of Sadc, which South Africa currently leads.

They will be pushing for a democratic solution. The body, which represents 16 countries, does not support coup-led governments as this would set a dangerous precedent in the largely peaceful region, says the BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.
The head of the African Union (AU), Guinean President Alpha Condé, was clear the AU would "in no case accept" a military seizure of power. He said he was "inviting the army to return to its barracks and return to constitutional order".

And Zimbabwe's opposition?

Mr Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T) party and the main opposition leader in Zimbabwe, said on Thursday: "In the interests of the people, Mr Robert Mugabe must resign... immediately."
Mr Tsvangirai, who has been abroad receiving treatment for cancer, also called for a "negotiated all-inclusive transitional mechanism" that would lead to "comprehensive reforms for free and fair elections to be held".
This has been echoed by another Zimbabwean opposition leader, Tendai Biti, who told the BBC: "It is urgent that we go back to democracy... that we go back to legitimacy but we need a transitional period and I think, I hope, that dialogue can now be opened between the army and Zimbabweans."

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What's happened to Grace Mugabe?

Early reports suggested Mrs Mugabe had fled to Namibia, but sources now say she is in the family compound along with senior figures from the "Generation-40" group that backs her - cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere.
On Wednesday, one of her key allies, Zanu-PF youth wing leader Kudzai Chipanga, made a televised apology for criticising the head of the army as a war of words raged prior to the military takeover.

Mr Chipanga is thought to be in army custody but insisted his statement was voluntary.
Local media reports say a number of other senior members of the "Generation-40" group have also been detained.

What are Zimbabweans being told?

Zimbabwe's media usually toe the government line and today's lead stories make it clear there is a new line to follow.
There is a striking absence of tough questions about what the army is doing.
"Business as usual countrywide," says The Herald, a government-owned newspaper. Yesterday it reassured readers there was "no military takeover".
State TV and radio stations have returned to regular programming, with Thursday's lunchtime news bulletin on state TV giving little indication of the political upheaval.
Some privately owned newspapers have dared to address the possible end of Robert Mugabe's rule.
"Transitional govt planned … as Mugabe cornered," the Financial Gazette reports. "Zimbabwe scents the end of an era," it added.
"It could easily have been entitled The end of an error. A 37-year-old error," says a similarly headlined commentary in NewsDay.

Was this a popular uprising?

Not so far, no. There have been no reports of unrest in Zimbabwe, and so far this appears to be a struggle within Zanu-PF.

Correspondents say many people have accepted that President Mugabe is being eased from office. Streets in Harare are said to be quieter than usual but people are going about their business.
On Wednesday, troops and armoured vehicles encircled parliament and other key buildings.
Hours earlier, soldiers took over the headquarters of national broadcaster ZBC and issued a statement saying that the military was targeting "criminals" around President Mugabe.