By Becky Bratu on World News

  • UN envoy condemns 'Malala-style' attack on Pakistani teacher

    A female Pakistani teacher and mother of three was shot dead by two motorcyclists near the school where she taught in Peshawar, Pakistan.

    UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown has condemned the shooting as a "Malala-style" incident. Malala Yousafzai, 15, is a young advocate for women's education who was shot in the face at point-blank range by Taliban gunmen on Oct. 9 in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.

    Shahnaz Bibi was a headmistress and a teacher at a primary school. She was on her way to work, traveling with her young son, when the attack took place. Her son, Daniel, 12, was unhurt.


    "I want justice," he told ITV’s Penny Marshall. "My mother suffered an injustice, and I want the world to know that."

    His father must now care for Daniel and his two sisters alone.

    Yousafzai was one of the first to sign a petition asking the Pakistani government to protect women and girls pursuing an education.

    "I think the petition that’s now being started and led by Malala herself is demanding that the Pakistani government not only get girls to school but protect teachers and girls when they go to school from extremist sects that are trying to deny girls in the 21st century the right to education," Brown, the former British prime minister, said.

    Several female aid workers and teachers have died in similar attacks in Pakistan.

  • 'I want to tell my story': Malala Yousafzai memoir to be published this fall

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    Fifteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban for speaking out against Pakistani militants and promoting education for girls.

    The memoir of 15-year-old Pakistani student Malala Yousafzai will be published this fall, publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson announced Wednesday. The deal is reportedly worth about $3 million.

    Titled "I Am Malala," the book will tell the story of the young advocate for women's education who was shot in the face at point-blank range by Taliban gunmen on Oct. 9 in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.

    The bullet passed through her head, neck and stuck in her shoulder but miraculously spared her life.

    Malala was treated in England following the attack, and last month she underwent skull reconstruction surgery.

    "I hope the book will reach people around the world, so they realize how difficult it is for some children to get access to education," Malala said in a news release. "I want to tell my story, but it will also be the story of 61 million children who can't get education. I want it to be part of the campaign to give every boy and girl the right to go to school. It is their basic right."


    Having survived the cowardly attack, Malala became a symbol for peaceful protest. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon designated Nov. 10 as Malala Day in her honor. Malala now attends school in Birmingham.

    Weidenfeld & Nicholson will publish the book in the United Kingdown and Little, Brown in the rest of the world.

    The British newspaper The Guardian reported that the deal is worth 2 million British pounds or about $3 million, but the publisher would not confirm. 

    In a fragment from the book released Wednesday, Malala writes:

    I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday. It was Tuesday, October 9, 2012, not the best of days as it was the middle of school exams, though as a bookish girl I don't mind them as much as my friends do. We'd finished for the day and I was squashed between my friends and teachers on the benches of the open-back truck we use as a school bus. There were no windows, just thick plastic sheeting that flapped at the sides and was too yellowed and dusty to see out of, and a postage stamp of open sky at the back through which I caught a glimpse of a kite wheeling up and down. It was pink, my favorite color.

    "This book will be a document to bravery, courage and vision," Arzu Tahsin, deputy publishing director at Weidenfeld & Nicolson, said in a statement. "Malala is so young to have experienced so much and I have no doubt that her story will be an inspiration to readers from all generations who believe in the right to education and the freedom to pursue it."

  • Russian tycoon Berezovsky found dead in London

    Exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, a prominent Russian opposition figure, was found dead at his home near London on Saturday. NBC's Lester Holt reports.

    Exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, a prominent Russian opposition figure, was found dead at his home near London on Saturday, British officials told NBC News. He was 67.

    His death was also reported in a Facebook post by his son-in-law, Egor Schuppe. "Boris Berezovsky dead," the post read.

    Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images, file

    A picture dated Oct. 4, 2011 shows Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky leaving the Court of Appeal in Central London. Berezovsky, the exiled Russian oligarch and long-time opponent of the Kremlin, has died in Britain at the age of 67, his spokesman said on March 23, 2013, without giving further details.

    Police said in a statement that they were investigating "the unexplained death of a 67-year-old man, believed to be Russian national Boris Berezovsky." Officials were combing through a property in Ascot, Berkshire, which is about 25 miles west of London. 

    Officers trained in dealing with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats conducted a number of searches as a precaution but found "nothing of concern in the property," according to the police statement. One road block in the area remained closed, police said.

    Police said Berezovsky's body was still in the property Saturday night, police said.

    "I would like to reassure residents that we are confident there is no risk to the wider community," Supt. Stuart Greenfield said in an earlier statement. "The property is part of a large estate so a number of roads are closed off at the moment and will remain so for the time being."

    Berezovsky accumulated his wealth in the early 1990s, when Russia's privatization of state assets turned chaotic. He orchestrated the re-election of Boris Yeltsin in 1996 and played a role in Vladimir Putin's rise to prominence, but he fell out of favor with the latter after Putin became president of Russia in 2000. 


    Berezovsky fled Russia for Britain in 2001 after criticizing Putin's government. He was granted political asylum in Britain in 2003.

    Berezovsky was a close friend of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, who was fatally poisoned with radioactive polonium in London in 2006.

    Last year, a court ordered him to pay $53.3 million in legal costs to fellow Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, after losing a legal battle against him. The legal and other costs of that lawsuit amounted to about $250 million.

     

    This story was originally published on

  • Obama: Iran more than a year away from nuclear weapon

    Iran is "over a year or so" away from developing a nuclear weapon and the United States remains committed to preventing that from happening, President Barack Obama told a reporter in an interview aired Thursday on Israeli television.

    Obama told Channel 2 TV ahead of his first visit to Israel as president that a nuclear Iran continues to be a "red line" for the United States, but that there is still a window of opportunity — "not an infinite period of time" — to resolve the issue diplomatically.

    "Right now, we think that it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don't want to cut it too close, and what we're going to be doing is to continue to engage internationally with Iran," Obama said, adding that his communication with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the topic is ongoing.


    "So, what I'm consulting (on) with Bibi as I have over the last several years on this issue, my message to him is the same as before: If we can resolve it diplomatically, that's a more lasting solution, but if not I continue to keep all options on the table," Obama said.

    Iran has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful and designed to produce energy.

    While the U.S. has favored diplomacy and economic sanctions to pressure Iran to halt its nuclear development, Israel has threatened several times it would take military action if Iran got close to obtaining a bomb.

    In the interview, however, Obama sought to reassure that the two countries share the same goal.

    "Our goal here is to make sure that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel or could trigger an arms race in the region that would be extraordinarily dangerous at a time when obviously there are already ... a lot of things going on," he said.

    Obama also emphasized that he and Netanyahu "have a terrific businesslike relationship" that keeps Israel's security and U.S. support at the forefront.

    Obama is due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday for a three-day trip, which will be his third visit to the country but his first as president.

    The president said he intends to meet with political leaders inside Israel, including Netanyahu, but also with Palestinian officials such as Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority, and President Mahmoud Abbas.

    "My goal on this trip is to listen," Obama said, adding that it is in the interest of both Israelis and Palestinians to advance their peace process and a two-state solution.

    "It's going to involve the Palestinians actually feeling like they have got a land of their own, and autonomy and the capacity to govern and to set up businesses and to prosper, and that they have self-determination," he said.

    "And for the Israelis, it's going to require them having the confidence that that doesn't come at the price of Israeli security."

  • Pope Francis to take over with installation Mass on St. Joseph's Day

    Dmitry Lovetsky / AP

    Cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church following then-Pope Benedict XVI's resignation. On the second day of the conclave, Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope, taking on the name Pope Francis.

    The pomp and circumstance surrounding the election of Pope Francis have only begun, as the church looks forward to his "installation ceremony" next week.

    The installation Mass, a morning-long affair, will take place on Tuesday — on the day of the Feast of St. Joseph.

    As many as 200 foreign delegations are expected to attend, alongside celebrities, politicians and thousands from the church's own ranks and from Francis' homeland, Argentina. Vice President Joe Biden will lead a U.S. delegation to Rome for the occasion.

    "I am happy to have the chance to personally relay my well wishes, and those of the American people, when I travel to Rome for his Inaugural Mass," Biden said in a statement Wednesday.


    The installation usually takes place on Sunday during Mass, but the Feast of St. Joseph's day is a Vatican holiday. 

    Hailing from Argentina, Cardinal Bergoglio – now Pope Francis, is known as a humble man who forgoes a chauffeur to take the bus to work. As the first Jesuit pope, it's expected Francis will encourage priests to evangelize, educating others in the Catholic faith. NBC's Anne Thompson reports

    During the inauguration, Francis will receive his papal regalia, including a pallium, which is a wool cloak or a mantle, and his "fisherman's ring." A new ring is cast in gold for each pope, to remind that the pontiff is a successor of Saint Peter, who was a fisherman by trade.

    The ceremony, however, is not as opulent as the papal coronation Masses of yore.

    Pope Paul VI was the last to receive the papal tiara at his ceremony in 1963.  Pope John Paul I, his successor, chose to begin his service with an installation Mass instead of a coronation.

    Related: 

    The pope's to-do list: 7 challenges facing Francis

    New pope's choice of name has deep meaning for Catholic Church

    Full coverage of Pope Francis from NBC News

  • 'Breath of fresh air': Women religious welcome Pope Francis

    Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

    Nuns talk in St Peter's Square after newly elected Pope Francis appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City.

    As the last puffs of white smoke dissipated at the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, women religious in the United States received the news of the pope's election with a mix of surprise and hope that he would shepherd the church through its current crisis.

    Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was chosen to lead the Roman Catholic Church as Pope Francis, a decision the nuns considered unexpected but auspicious.

    "I think it's just wonderful," said Sister Michele of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church. “The Holy Spirit worked through the cardinals, and God put in the man that he wants."


    Francis is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus, an order founded in the 16th century by St. Ignatius Loyola. Its members, known as Jesuits, take a vow of poverty and are known for their scholarship and work among the poor, which is seen as a draw to nuns, who devote their lives to charity and caring for the less fortunate.

    Nuns flock to the Vatican and celebrate as new pope is elected

    “There’s a lot of promise in that (he’s a Jesuit),” said Erin Saiz Hanna, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference, which promotes women's ordination as priests. "It’s a breath of fresh air," she said, adding that Jesuits "are known to be more progressive."

    The Sisters of Life, an order founded in 1991 that helps pregnant women and organizes a retreat for women who have had abortions, welcomed the news with "great joy," Sister Mary Elizabeth said.

    “We're praying for [Francis], and we’re excited to see what the Holy Spirit brings," she said. "We’re all part of the family of God; we would rejoice no matter where he came from."

    Sister Mary Elizabeth added that her order believes there’s a complementarity between men and women in the church, and they embrace their role modeled after the Virgin Mary, "a humble handmaid of the Lord."

    The church's attitude toward women and its teachings on contraception, abortion and same-sex marriage are blamed by some for the decline in morale among Catholics. Last year, thousands stepped up in defense of American nuns after the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog issued a report questioning their loyalty to some church teachings, including the nuns' lack of outspokenness on issues such as gay marriage, abortion and contraception. (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the head of the watchdog group before he was elected pope in 2005.)

    The report targeted the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about 80 percent of the 57,000 nuns in the United States.

    Sister Annmarie Sanders, director of communications for the Leadership Conference, said Wednesday that while the sisters were surprised by the conclave's decision, they welcomed Francis with "heartfelt prayer."

    "As a conference of leaders of orders of Catholic sisters in the United States, we welcome Pope Francis I’s spiritual leadership and look forward to working with him in carrying forward the Gospel message," LCWR's statement read.

    A Pew Research Center poll conducted last month shows that 46 percent of U.S. Catholics surveyed think the new pope should "move in new directions," while 51 percent say he should "maintain traditional positions."

    Hanna, of the Women's Ordination Conference, says she has "a lot of hope" that the new pope will address issues such as gay rights, divorce and contraception, which cause some women to feel excluded from the church.

    And, she added, she hopes Francis will reopen the discussion on women's ordination.

    Last year, Pope Benedict XVI denounced the priests supporting women's ordination, saying their desire to change the church was a "desperate push" driven by their "own preferences and ideas." Instead, Benedict urged the "radicalism of obedience."

    But Hanna and Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a woman priest who was ordained in 2008, think the movement is growing and the time is ripe for women's voices to be heard.

    "We deserve a better church than what we’ve been given," Hanna said.

    Dmitry Lovetsky / AP

    Cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church following then-Pope Benedict XVI's resignation. On the second day of the conclave, Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope, taking on the name Pope Francis.

  • Maduro sworn in as Venezuela's acting president

    Juan Barreto / AFP - Getty Images

    The President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello puts the presidential sash on Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro after he was sworn in as President in Charge, in Caracas, on March 8, 2013.

    Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro was sworn in as acting president Friday, against objections from the country's political opposition that the move violates the country's constitution. Maduro named as his vice president the son-in-law of the late President Hugo Chavez.

    Chavez had hand-picked Maduro, his vice president, as his successor before he died of cancer Tuesday.

    Opposition leaders said the swearing-in violates the constitution because Chavez was never sworn in after he won re-election last fall. The socialist leader was too ill at the time.

    "I want the world to know that this is a fraudulent swearing-in," said Henrique Capriles, the opposition leader who ran against Chavez in the October elections. He added that Venezuela's presidency should not be achieved by decree.

    According to the country's constitution, the National Assembly speaker should become interim president if a president-elect dies without having been sworn in.


    Maduro is a former bus driver and union leader who now leads the Chavista movement. This week, Maduro blamed "enemy countries" for Chavez's cancer.

    The constitution stipulates new elections should be called within 30 days. Maduro called for a snap election in a few weeks. Officials are expected to announce a date on Saturday, Reuters reported. 

    Maduro's new vice president is Jorge Arreaza, who is married to Chavez's daughter María Gabriela. Arreaza has been the Venezuelan government's science and technology minister.

    NBC News' Erika Angulo contributed to this report.

    Leaders from just about every country in Latin America, as well as Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a small delegation from the U.S., turned out for the funeral of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. NBC's Mark Potter reports.

  • Maduro: Chavez body to be permanently displayed

    Tens of thousands of grieving Venezuelans line up, for miles, in the streets of Caracas to pay their respects to the open coffin of Hugo Chavez.  ITV's Matt Frei reports. 

    Hugo Chavez's body will be permanently displayed in a special tomb, Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced Thursday on state television.

    Maduro said the official state funeral will begin Friday at 10:30 a.m. ET. Some 30 heads of state along with delegations from 50 countries are expected to attend. Following the ceremony, Chavez's body will lie in state for seven additional days, so that more people can see it.


    Leo Ramirez / AFP - Getty Images

    Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez across the Americas mourn his death.

    People have been waiting up to 12 hours to pay their respects in a line that snakes for more than a mile.

    Maduro also announced that Chavez's body will be preserved in the same manner as that of Russia's Vladimir Lenin or China's Mao Zedong, so "he will always be with the people."

    Visitors will be able to view Chavez's body in a special tomb now under construction in a Caracas museum devoted to his populist revolution. The site is called el Museo Histórico Militar de Caracas or Cuartel 4 de Febrero.

    Maduro again called for peace and calm and thanked the public for respecting the solemnity of this occasion.

    Friday afternoon, the parliament will hold a special session to swear in Maduro as acting president. Elections are expected to take place within 30 days.

    Chavez, the socialist leader who ran Venezuela for 14 years, lost his two-year battle with cancer Tuesday. His illness was first detected in his pelvic region in 2011. He was 58.

    NBC News' Mary Murray, Mark Potter and Roxanne Garcia contributed to this report.

  • Socialist socialites: Hollywood mourns Hugo Chavez

    Joel Ryan / AP

    Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez shakes hands with director Oliver Stone as they arrive for the screening of the film 'South of the Border' at the 66th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2009.

    As thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets of Caracas to mourn President Hugo Chavez after learning of his death Tuesday, tributes began pouring in from supporters around the world — including several Hollywood heavyweights who stood by the socialist firebrand during his reign.

    Actor Sean Penn, one of the Latin American leader's most vocal supporters (he once joined Chavez on the campaign trail and attended a candlelight vigil for him in Bolivia last year) said the United States had "lost a friend it never knew it had."


    Str / AFP/Getty Images

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and actor-director Sean Penn listen to an explanation from a doctor during a visit to a hospital Aug. 3, 2007 in San Cristobal, Venezuela.

    "And poor people around the world lost a champion," Penn said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "I lost a friend I was blessed to have. My thoughts are with the family of President Chavez and the people of Venezuela."

    Related: Sean Penn on Hugo Chavez's death: 'I lost a friend'

    Filmmaker Oliver Stone, who first met Chavez in December 2007 and credited him for many of the social changes taking place in South America, said the former leader would live forever in history.

    ''I mourn a great hero to the majority of his people and those who struggle throughout the world for a place," Stone said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "Hated by the entrenched classes, Hugo Chavez will live forever in history."

    "My friend, rest finally in a peace long earned," Stone added.

    Actor Danny Glover, who had visited Chavez in Venezuela several times, echoed the same sentiment.

    Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images

    File picture dated Sept. 21, 2006 shows Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and actor/activist Danny Glover hugging each other while attending The CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program inauguration ceremony at the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Harlem, New York.

    "In sadness and in tribute to my friend, Hugo Chavez, I join with millions of Venezuelans, Latin Americans, Caribbeans, fellow U.S. citizens  and millions of freedom-loving people around the world, in hope for a rewarding future for the democratic and social development charter of the Bolivarian Revolution,” Glover told theGrio.

    “We all embraced Hugo Chavez as a social-champion of democracy, material development, and spiritual well-being.”

    Others, including Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, paid their respects via Twitter. "So long comandante @chavezcandanga, we will miss you forever #ChavezVive," Maradona posted Wednesday

    "Ruling Classes hated Hugo Chavez. RIP," tweeted comedian Roseanne Barr.

    "You won't hear much nice about him in the US media in the next few days. So, I thought I'd say a couple things to provide some balance," tweeted filmmaker Michael Moore Tuesday.

    "54 countries around the world allowed the US to detain(& torture) suspects. Latin America, thanks 2 Chavez, was the only place that said no," he added.

    "We spoke for over an hour," Moore said of an encounter with Chavez in 2009. "He said he was happy 2 finally meet someone Bush hated more than him."

    Ricardo Mazalan / AP

    Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez across the Americas mourn his death.

  • 'Moment of deep pain': Venezuela erupts in emotion as interim president takes over

    Ariana Cubillos / AP

    Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez react after learning of his death in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday.

    Hundreds of Venezuelans poured into the streets of Caracas to mourn President Hugo Chavez after learning of his death Tuesday.

    Chavez, 58, the socialist leader who ran Venezuela for 14 years, lost his two-year battle with cancer, which was first detected in his pelvic region in 2011.

    "It's a moment of deep pain," Vice President Nicolas Maduro said, as he announced Chavez's passing and urged the nation not to resort to expressions of violence.

    The deceased leader's daughter, María Gabriela Chavez, tweeted to her followers: "I don't have words. Eternally, THANK YOU! Strength! We must follow his example. We must continue building our NATION! Always daddy of mine!"

    A public funeral is scheduled for Chavez on Friday, followed by seven days of mourning.


    Venezuelans -- some in tears, some chanting "Long live Chavez!" -- gathered near the Miraflores presidential palace and outside the military hospital where Chavez died, The Associated Press reported.

    One of the world's most flamboyant leaders lost his two-year battle with cancer on Tuesday, ending 14 years of a tumultuous and often bitterly divisive socialist reign. NBC's Mark Potter reports.

    "I feel such big pain I can't even speak," Yamilina Barrios, a 39-year-old office worker, told the AP. "He was the best thing the country had ... I adore him. Let's hope the country calms down and we can continue the tasks he left us."

    "He was our father. 'Chavismo' will not end. We are his people. We will continue to fight!" Nancy Jotiya, 56, in Caracas' downtown Bolivar Square, told Reuters.

    As the streets filled with people and stores closed early, additional police were sent to monitor the crowds. Reuters reported isolated violent incidents, including the burning of tents used by students who had been protesting against secrecy surrounding Chavez's condition.

    The oil-financed social policies implemented throughout his rule earned Chavez the support of the poor but also disapproval from Venezuela's business community and the wealthy.

    "At last!" shouted some women in an upscale neighborhood, according to Reuters.

    Condolences also poured in from leaders and politicians around the world.

    Claudio Santana / AFP - Getty Images

    Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in the United States and elsewhere mourn his death.

    Among those who made public remarks was Henrique Capriles Radonski, who faced Chavez in the nation's elections last October.

    "We hurt for the feelings of pain of the deceased president's family, and of his colleagues and many Venezuelans, our most heartfelt condolences," Capriles said. "This is not a moment to highlight what separates us. In hours of anguish, families and a people, who are a great family, must unite in prayer, in mediation. Not time of difference, time of union."

    Capriles lost to Chavez in October, but the latter was not sworn in due to his illness.

    Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said Tuesday that Maduro will be interim president, and also run as the governing party candidate in elections that will be called within 30 days. Jaua said it was Chavez's wish that Maduro should be the socialist party candidate.

    According to Venezuela's constitution, the executive vice president should be put in charge when the president dies. The constitution, however, also specifies that the speaker of the National Assembly, currently Diosdado Cabello, should be in charge if a president can't be sworn in.

    NBC News' Edgar Zuniga, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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    The life of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez from his rise as a lieutenant colonel after his failed coup attempt in 1992.

    Related:

    Venezuela's 'Comandante' Hugo Chavez dies

    Analysis: Chavistas begin search for Latin America's next 'Comandante'

    Full Venezuela coverage from NBC News

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