World News in brief for November 6, 2012 (GALLERY)

Nov 6 2012 By Cheryl Mullin

US ELECTION: US President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have closed out their hard-fought battle for the White House, yielding centre stage to voters who face a stark choice on election day between fundamentally different visions for the country’s future.

SOUTH AFRICA: South African police may have altered the scene and planted weapons after they shot dead 34 striking miners near Lonmin’s Marikana mines in August, according to a lawyer reviewing photographic evidence presented at a commission of inquiry into the killings.

Photographs taken by police at night show more weapons by the dead bodies than there were in photographs taken immediately after the violence on August 16.

IRAQ: At least 32 people have been killed and more than 46 others wounded after a suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives detonated the vehicle near an Iraqi military base as soldiers changed shifts, according to authorities.

The blast struck as troops were leaving the base in Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

GREECE: Thousands have marched through Athens as trade unions held their third general strike in six weeks.

The protest came in the run-up to a parliamentary vote on a new austerity programme that will condemn Greece to more years of hardship in exchange for the money it needs to avoid going bankrupt.

RUSSIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired the country’s defence minister two weeks after a criminal probe was opened into alleged fraud in the sell-off of military assets.

Putin made the announcement of Anatoly Serdyukov’s dismissal yesterday in a meeting with Moscow regional governor Sergei Shoigu, whom he appointed as the new minister.

SYRIA: Gunmen have killed the brother of Syria’s parliament speaker as he drove to work in Damascus, the state-run news agency reported.

The shooting happened as the international envoy for Syria warned that the country could become another Somalia.

GERMANY: Opposition politicians and human rights groups have criticised German Chancellor Angela Merkel for claiming that Christianity is “the most persecuted religion worldwide”.

Jerzy Montag, of the opposition Greens party, described Mrs Merkel’s comments as “mistaken” and “not very helpful”.