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Syria: Rebel Prisoners On Their Religious War

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 08 Desember 2012 | 16.15

Interviewing people who, under different circumstances, might kill you, is a strange experience.

To the soundtrack of multiple rocket launchers and small arms fire, I met six men who the Syrian authorities told us were jihadist rebel fighters captured by the army.

We were in a Ministry of Interior prison near Damascus in an area now close to the front lines.

The men, four Syrian, an Iraqi, and a Turk, said they had indeed been in the jihadist movement fighting President Assad's forces, but now renounced the armed struggle even though they continued to espouse Salafist ideology. All are awaiting court appearances.

Jamil Us Turk, Ahmed al Rabido, Hamid Hassan al Attar, Bahar al Bashah, Ali Hussein and Mahmoud al Ahab said they were happy to be interviewed and had not been badly treated.

At one point I asked the guards to leave, spoke with the men alone and checked them for obvious signs of mistreatment, which were not apparent. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both accuse the Syrian regime of routinely torturing prisoners.

As far as I could ascertain, the men were who they said they were. The Turkish man spoke Turkish, the Iraqi had an Iraqi accent, they displayed religious knowledge of the sort taught to those with a Salafist mindset.

Syria: Six rebel fighters are awaiting court appearances The captured fighters are from Turkey, Iraq and Syria

Most of the rebel militias are not radical jihadists, but in the last few months there appears to have been a sharp increase in the number of foreign fighters coming to Syria.

The Syrian authorities are keen to promote the view that they are fighting an al Qaeda type force which partially explains why, after much pushing, we were allowed rare access into the jail.

Mahmoud al Ahab, who described himself as a Palestinian Syrian, told me he was in the al Nusra Front which he said was an al Qaeda group. He had sworn an oath of allegiance to al Nursa but now felt this was a mistake.

Ahmed al Rabido, a 48-year-old Syrian, said he was a religious leader, a Mufti, in the Free Syrian Army.

"I joined because I wanted to demolish the secular state... I don't believe in this anymore because the country is being ruined," he said.

Bahar al Basah, 35, another Palestinian Syrian, told me he was influenced by the writings of Abu Qatada, the radical cleric currently under house arrest in the UK.

The men only became animated when I showed a little knowledge of Salafist ideology and brought up the works of Islamists such as the Egyptian Sayyid Qubt.

Sky's Tim Marshall in Syria Sky's Tim Marshall interviewed the men awaiting trial

This led to a question about the future of Syria's minorities such as the Christians. Ahmed, Basah, and Hamid Hassan all agreed - Christians could only live there if they either converted, or paid the 'Jizyah' - a special tax levied on non-Muslims in previous centuries in the Middle East. If not said Bahar, they could be killed.

When asked why, the answer was, to them, quite simple - because the Prophet Mohammed said so. I was then invited to become a Muslim.

The conversation verged on the surreal. There we were talking in a quite friendly manner, with the occasional joke, about killing people because they wouldn't pay the Jizyah, which critics regard as effectively obtaining money through menaces.

The interview ended with Ahmed volunteering that eventually Muslims must reclaim Andalucia in Spain for the Islamic Caliphate.

His logic, that it was justified because Spain used to be under Islam, was somewhat undermined when he went on to say that Islam should move on to bring the UK under its control and indeed, eventually, the whole world.

SYRIA-CONFLICT Rebel fighters want an end to President Assad's regime

This was a rare first-hand glimpse into the jihadi mindset.

The men are not representative of the FSA, indeed many militia units are deeply suspicious of the jihadists' aims.

However, it appears that a lot of the best weapons are reaching the jihadist groups, and they are using these to gain influence and territory. 

Even if the rebels overthrow the government, they won't just have a problem dealing with militia from the minority groups, they will have problems with each other.

As the men left to go back to their cells, we shook hands.

Two of them were still trying to convert me, asking me, with a smile, to say the Shahada 'La ilaha il Allah' - there is no God but Allah.

Men like this scare Syria's Christians, Allawites, Shia, Druze, and Kurds, indeed they frighten many of the countries Sunnis, but the war here is now so steeped in blood that compromise seems almost impossible to achieve, and there are now people on both sides who reject compromise out of hand.


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Eight People Killed In Cambodia Market Fire

Eight people, including four children, have been killed in a fire that tore through a popular night market in the Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap.

Two others were seriously injured in the blaze, which raged for about two hours early on Saturday, said Sath Nady, chief of Siem Reap police.

The children, aged between nine and 14, were sleeping with their families on the upper floor of a building on the premises when the fire broke out, he said.

"Eight people from two families died in the fire. They could not find their way out."

The fire, apparently caused by an electrical fault, also destroyed more than 100 stalls selling souvenirs, and forced the market to be closed.

Siem Reap, a small town in the northwest, is the gateway to the country's main tourist destination, the ancient temple complex of Angkor, a UNESCO World Heritage site.


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Egypt: 'Concerned' Obama Calls Morsi

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 07 Desember 2012 | 16.15

President Barack Obama has called the leader of Egypt to express his deep concern about the deaths and injuries of protesters in the country.

The US president welcomed President Mohamed Morsi's call for a dialogue with the opposition and urged opposition leaders to join in this dialogue without preconditions.

Egypt's president had appeared on national television in an attempt to defuse the worst violence seen in the country since last year's revolution, and he said a controversial decree granting him widespread new powers might be modified.

Anger over what is perceived as Mr Morsi's increasingly autocratic rule came to a head on Wednesday when at least six people were killed and almost 700 injured during clashes between his supporters and opponents.

Members of the main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, said they were assessing the offer of dialogue but it was immediately rejected by the pro-democracy movement "April 6".

The crisis was sparked by Mr Morsi's decree on November 22, giving himself wide powers and protecting himself from judicial review.

The opposition has previously demanded that the president scrap his decree, postpone the referendum and redraft the constitution.

As well as drawing up a political roadmap, President Morsi said the talks would aim to resolve the fate of the upper house of parliament after the Islamist-dominated lower house was dissolved in June, the election law and other issues.

"I call for a full, productive dialogue with all figures and heads of parties, revolutionary youth and senior legal figures to meet this Saturday," he declared.

Several thousand opposition protesters near the palace waved their shoes in derision after his speech and shouted "Killer, killer" and "We won't go, he will go" - another of the slogans used against Mubarak in last year's revolt.


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McAfee: Lawyers Bid To Prevent Belize Return

Lawyers for software guru John McAfee are making legal moves to prevent him being returned to Belize after he was released from hospital in neighbouring Guatemala.

McAfee had suffered chest pains and was rushed to hospital but a government doctor who examined him said his heart rhythm and blood pressure were normal and that he appeared to be suffering from high stress.

McAfee had been taken ill soon after Guatemalan authorities said his request for asylum had been denied. He was later returned to a detention centre.

McAfee has issued a plea on his blog for the public to petition Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina to let him stay.

"Please email the President of Guatemala and beg him to allow the court system to proceed, to determine my status in Guatemala, and please support the political asylum that I am asking for," the post read.

McAfee's legal team said they were preparing to appeal against the denial of asylum to the country's constitutional court, a process that could give McAfee perhaps another day or two in Guatemala.

He had been taken to the immigration centre after his arrest for illegally entering the country following a bizarre journey as a self-styled fugitive, with an active blog and constant contact with the press.

Belize police spokesman Raphael Martinez said officials expected McAfee to be flown back to his country.

Police want to question him about the killing of neighbour Gregory Viant Faull, who was shot in early November on the Belize island where both men lived.

The Faull family has said through a representative that the murder of their loved one on Ambergris Caye has become lost in the media frenzy provoked by McAfee's manipulation of the media through phone calls, emails and blog posts detailing his life on the run.

McAfee said US embassy officials had said they couldn't help him with a request to be returned to the US instead of Belize.

McAfee said he had formally requested asylum in Guatemala due to fears for his safety because he has sensitive information about official corruption and refused to donate to local politicians.

His Guatemalan lawyer, Telesforo Guerra, has said 67-yeard-old McAfee's life would be in danger if he is sent back to Belize.


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Japan Earthquake Sparks Tsunami Alert

A tsunami alert has been issued for Japan's northeast coast after a strong earthquake shook buildings as far away as Tokyo.

The tremor struck in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 23 miles, and the epicentre was 285 miles from the capital.

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, the US Geological Survey said, adding that there was no risk of a widespread tsunami.

An alert for a one-metre high tsunami was issued for the coast of Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan, which was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.

That quake triggered fuel-rod meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing radiation leakage, contamination of food and water and mass evacuations in the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

Tokyo Electric Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, reported no irregularities at its nuclear plants after the latest quake.

More follows...


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Philippines Typhoon: Deadly Scale Becomes Clear

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 06 Desember 2012 | 16.15

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

The number of people killed in the Philippines typhoon may rise as high as 500.

Rescuers and recovery teams are continuing to discover devastated communities in remote regions of Mindanao Island.

Typhoon Bopha hit the east of Mindanao, far south of the capital Manila, at dawn on Tuesday morning.

Initial reports suggested that no one had been killed and only a few people injured.

However, as communication was restored and remote regions accessed, the reality became clear.

TV footage shows scores of dead bodies all caked in mud. Those who survived sit, stunned, next to their dead relatives.

PHILIPPINES-WEATHER-STORM A family wash clothes surrounded by a devastated banana plantation

One young boy is carried to safety by his cousin. His father is in hospital but his mother and his brother are dead.

Hundreds of the injured across Mindanao will have the same stories. Many thousands more are homeless.

Mindanao has the perfect landscape for storm destruction - much of the population live in shacks along the coastline, but inland the island is dominated by mountains and rivers.

Many people and their homes were wiped away by flooding and landslides.

In the Compostela Valley in the island's south-east, communities were evacuated to a local school and a community centre which were then hit.

"We didn't think the winds would get that strong. The floods were rushing towards us. We didn't imagine it would turn out that way, so we didn't come here to evacuate," one villager said.

The recovery will continue and the repair work will now begin. However, forecasters predict another storm within the next two weeks.


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North Sea Ship Collision: Four People Killed

Four crew members have died and another seven are still missing after a cargo ship collided with another vessel and sank off the Dutch coast.

The 485ft (148m) Baltic Ace collided with the 440ft (134m) container ship Corvus J near busy shipping lanes some 40 miles off the coast of the southern Netherlands.

Baltic Ace, which was heading from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge to Kotka in Finland, sank shortly after the collision.

Corvus J was on its way from Grangemouth in Scotland to Antwerp, Belgium, and was also damaged but assisted in the search for the missing crew of the sunken ship immediately afterwards.

"We can confirm that four bodies have been found, along with 13 people rescued alive," said coastguard spokesman Marcel Oldenburger.

A major air and sea rescue operation involving several helicopters, planes and two navy patrol ships has resumed.

North Sea Ships Collide Off Coast Of Netherlands The collision occurred in one of the North Sea's busiest shipping lanes

"Given the water temperature and the amount of time that's passed, we don't have any hope for more survivors, said coastguard spokesman Peter Westenberg.

It is thought some of the crew may have gone down with the stricken vessel.

Earlier, rescuers pulled four bodies from the sea, before suspending the search overnight.

Some 13 crew members were also rescued from the Baltic Ace despite strong winds and waves of up to 9.8ft (3m) hampering the operation.

Four were flown to a hospital in Rotterdam, seven taken by rescue helicopter to a hospital in Belgium and two were being treated on board a ship that found them.

Mr Oldenburger said they were "all in shock" and suffering from hypothermia, but their lives were not in danger.

The cause of the collision is not known.

The shipping lane where the accident happened is one of the busiest in the North Sea and an important passing point for ships sailing into Rotterdam port, Europe's largest and the fifth-largest in the world.


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John McAfee Arrested By Guatemalan Police

Anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee has been arrested by Guatemalan police for entering the country illegally.

The 67-year-old was detained at a hotel in Guatemala City with the help of Interpol agents.

He entered the country over the weekend with his 20-year-old girlfriend Sam Venegas after going on the run following the murder of his neighbour in Belize last month.

Police spokesman Pablo Castillo said the software pioneer could be deported within hours to Belize or repatriated to the US.

John McAfee, anti-virus software guru is pictured in a hotel elevator with his 20-year-old Belizean girlfriend Sam Venegas after a interview with Reuters in Guatemala City John McAfee with his 20-year-old Belizean girlfriend Sam Venegas

"We understand that he has permanent residency in Belize, where he could be deported in the next few hours," the spokesman said.

"His status is illegal and he is being made available to immigration authorities so they can decide whether to deport him to his country of origin."

After his arrival in Guatemala, Mr McAfee employed former Guatemalan attorney general Telesforo Guerra to manage his plea to stay in the country.

"[Mr McAfee] is persecuted in Belize, persecuted politically because he stopped financing the government," Mr Guerra said.

"They accuse him of a common crime. So what I have to obtain is an authorisation of asylum."

John McAfee, anti-virus software guru, gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters in Guatemala City John McAfee during an interview

Mr McAfee has maintained his innocence since escaping the Belize police on the island of Ambergris Caye hours after his neighbour Gregory Faull was shot in the head on November 11.

The authorities in Belize say Mr McAfee is wanted for questioning as a "person of interest" and have urged him to give himself up.

Mr Faull, who was found with a 9mm bullet in his head, led neighbours in writing a letter to the mayor complaining that the millionaire's "vicious" dogs and aggressive security guards were scaring tourists and residents.

Before he fled after the murder, Mr McAfee shot dead his four dogs, which he said may have been poisoned by Mr Faull.

Ballistics experts have exhumed the animals and are examining them to see if the bullets match that found in the victim.


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Turkey Storms: Cargo Ship's Crew Missing

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 05 Desember 2012 | 16.15

Nine crew members are missing after their boat sank off the coast of Istanbul in stormy conditions.

Turkish rescue workers are also involved in an operation to save 14 sailors from another cargo vessel after it suffered a mechanical failure.

Two people also died and three are still missing after a rescue boat crashed into the rocks off Turkey's Sile coast.

Storms Hit Of Coast Of Istanbul Turkey

Sile lies about 25 miles east of the northern end of the Bosphorus Strait, the only maritime outlet for cargo from Black Sea countries, including Russian oil and grain.

Stormy weather conditions frequently force the strait's closure in winter, but officials have said it is still open.


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Gang Boss Shot Dead: Real IRA Member Held

A convicted member of the Real IRA is in custody following the murder of one of Ireland's most notorious criminals.

Eamon Kelly was shot dead after being chased down the road near his home in north Dublin, just two years after he escaped a similar attempt on his life when the attacker's gun jammed.

Dubbed "The Godfather" by Dublin's tabloid press, the 65-year-old was shot up to six times as he attempted to flee the gunman, according to police.

He was found injured on a footpath and died later in Beaumont Hospital.

A 32-year-old arrested near the scene on Furry Park Road in Killester is said to be a close associate of Real IRA leader Alan Ryan, who was murdered in September.

The suspect from south Dublin was previously jailed for Real IRA membership and his gang is suspected of being involved in a spate of shootings and pipebomb attacks. He is being questioned by police in Clontarf.

Kelly's crime empire has reportedly been at odds with Real IRA figures, who in recent years have demanded a slice of criminal gangs' drug-trafficking profits in exchange for not killing their members or burning down their business fronts.

Such killings have become regular occurrences in working-class parts of Dublin and the southwest city of Limerick, where two rival crime clans, the Keane-Collopy and McCarthy-Dundon gangs, have been killing each other - and occasionally innocent civilians - for a decade.

Fourteen other people have been shot dead in attacks linked to criminal gangs or disputes in the Irish capital this year.

Police allege that Kelly was a leading member of a gang which, working with the IRA, robbed banks and armoured-car cash shipments in Dublin in the 1980s and became a pioneer of Ireland's burgeoning cocaine trade.

In 1993, he became Ireland's first gangland boss to be convicted of possessing cocaine and received a 14-year prison sentence.

Since leaving prison a decade ago, Kelly has overseen a sharp rise in tit-for-tat violence, according to authorities.

Police allege his longtime associate, Eamon "the Don" Dunne, oversaw at least 17 murders from 2005 to his own death in 2010, when he was shot eight times in the head as he sat drinking in a Dublin pub.


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Nasa Plans To Send New Rover To Red Planet

Nasa has announced plans to send a new rover to Mars in 2020 as it prepares for a manned mission to the Red Planet.

The news comes a day after results of the first soil tested by the Curiosity rover found traces of some of the compounds like water and oxygen that are necessary for life.

President Barack Obama's administration "is committed to a robust Mars exploration programme", Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden said.

"With this next mission, we're ensuring America remains the world leader in the exploration of the Red Planet, while taking another significant step toward sending humans there in the 2030s."

Nasa was forced to pull out of some joint missions with the European Space Agency after its budget was slashed earlier this year. 

It hopes to save money on the next rover - currently estimated to cost $1.5bn (£900m) - by using spare parts left over from Curiosity and sticking to the same successful design.

Mars Curiosity rover self-portrait Curiosity landed on Mars on August 6

The new rover brings the number of Nasa missions currently operating or being planned for Mars to seven.

The Opportunity rover has been exploring the Martian surface since 2004.

The much more sophisticated Curiosity rover landed in Gale Crater on August 6. Two other spacecraft are currently orbiting Mars to study the planet from above and help relay signals from the rovers.

A new craft - the Maven - is set to launch next year to study the Martian upper atmosphere.

Nasa also plans to send a craft dubbed InSight to dig the planet's depths in 2016 to determine whether its core is solid or liquid like Earth's.

"The challenge to restructure the Mars Exploration Programme has turned from the seven minutes of terror for the Curiosity landing to the start of seven years of innovation," said astronaut John Grunsfeld, Nasa's associate administrator for science.

While the rover's name and actual mission must still be worked out, Mr Grunsfeld said he hoped it would improve on Curiosity with the addition of a 3D camera.


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Syria: Obama Warns Against Chemical Warfare

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 04 Desember 2012 | 16.15

Barack Obama has warned Syrian President Bashar Assad of the "consequences" if he were to make the "tragic mistake" of using chemical weapons against his own people.

The US President's remarks came as security officials said they had detected activity at chemical weapons depots.

"I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command, the world is watching. The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable," he said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed Mr Obama's caution that such action would cross a "red line" for the United States that would prompt action.

She did not, however, address the reports of movement at Syrian chemical weapons depots - or go into detail about what the response might be - but insisted that Washington would address any threat that arises.

View of buildings damaged after a Syrian Air Force fighter jet loyal to President Bashar al-Assad fired missiles at Houla, near Homs Buildings destroyed by regime missiles in the village of Houla, near Homs

"We have made our views very clear: This is a red line for the United States," she said on Monday while in Prague for meetings with Czech officials.

"I'm not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people. But suffice it to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur."

She added: "We once again issue a very strong warning to the Assad regime that their behaviour is reprehensible, their actions against their own people have been tragic.

"But there is no doubt that there's a line between even the horrors that they've already inflicted on the Syrian people and moving to what would be an internationally condemned step of utilising their chemical weapons."

White House, press secretary Jay Carney added: "We are concerned that in an increasingly beleaguered regime, having found its escalation of violence through conventional means inadequate, might be considering the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people."

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton speaks during a news conference in Prague Hillary Clinton says chemical warfare would be a "red line" for the US

The warning came as Lebanese security officials said Syria's Foreign Ministry spokesman had left the country and was heading to the UK on a flight from Beirut.

However, it was unclear whether Jihad Makdissi had defected from Mr Assad's regime.

Syria has been careful never to confirm that it has any chemical weapons - any use of which would draw international condemnation.

Its ministry of foreign affairs said Syria "would not use chemical weapons - if there are any - against its own people under any circumstances".

Syria is believed to have several hundred ballistic surface-to-surface missiles capable of carrying chemical warheads, and there are concerns its chemical and biological weapons could fall into the wrong hands should the regime in Syria collapse and lose control of them.

The US has opposed military intervention or providing arms support to Syria's rebels for fear of further escalating a conflict that activists say has killed more than 40,000 people since March 2011.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said it was suspending its aid operations in Syria and withdrawing all non-essential international staff due to attacks on humanitarian aid convoys and the hijacking of goods or vehicles in recent weeks.

The European Union said it too was scaling back its activities in the Syrian capital Damascus due to the worsening security situation.


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Philippines Typhoon: Bopha Forces Evacuations

A powerful typhoon has smashed into the southern Philippines, forcing more than 41,000 people to flee their homes to escape the strongest storm to hit the country this year.

Three people have been hit by falling trees, while another person had a heart attack as the typhoon lashed Mindanao island, said civil defence chief Benito Ramos, adding that their condition was not known.

"So far, casualties have been minimal. We attribute this to the co-operation of our people and the efforts of local officials," Mr Ramos told reporters.

The storm weakened slightly after making landfall early on Tuesday and was moving northwest.

Power has been cut off in at least eight municipalities, while parts of Agusan del Sur province are flooded, Mr Ramos said.

Winds have also blown roofs off some buildings on Mindanao.

The commercial centre of Cagayan de Oro, a city of 600,000 people, was hit by flooding as rivers overflowed.

Liza Mazo, regional civil defence official, said power was cut to reduce the risk of fires and electrocutions.

Residents wait for a truck to transport them into an evacuation center as local officials ordered enforced evacuation ahead of Typhoon Bopha Cagayan de Oro residents ready for evacuation ahead of the storm

Residents evacuated high-risk coastal villages and along rivers, including in southern provinces that were devastated by a deadly storm a year ago.

Cagayan de Oro mayor Vicente Emano said on ABS-CBN television that police forcibly evacuated residents of low-lying areas after they refused to join thousands of others who had sought refuge at government shelters.

Schools were shut in Mindanao and across large areas of the central Philippines, with some of the schoolrooms serving as evacuation centres or to store relief supplies.

In the mountainous Compostela Valley, authorities halted mining operations and ordered villagers to evacuate to prevent a repeat of deadly losses from landslides and the collapse of mine tunnels seen in recent storms.

Bopha, which has a 373-mile (600-km) wide rain band, was expected to barrel across southern and central provinces before blowing out into the South China Sea on Thursday, forecasters said.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons a year, with 1,500 deaths recorded last year from cyclones that affected nearly a tenth of the total population by government count.


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Toulouse Gunman: 'Two Accomplices Arrested'

French police have arrested two alleged accomplices in the Toulouse gunman attacks, reports say.

Mohamed Merah's al Qaeda-inspired shooting spree in and around the southern city in March left seven people dead.

A man, described by police as a member of the traveller community, was arrested in the southern town of Albi, while his former partner was arrested in Toulouse.

They are being held on suspicion of helping Merah carry out the attacks, a police source said.

Merah's elder brother Abdelghani previously told French media that the gunman had accomplices, including someone from the traveller community who may have been involved in stealing the scooter Merah used in his attacks.

Merah,  a Frenchman of Algerian origin, shot a rabbi, three Jewish schoolchildren and three French paratroopers before being shot dead in a police siege.

Merah, who visited Afghanistan and Pakistan before his attacks, was a petty criminal who was lured into Islamic extremists circles in Toulouse.


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Russia: Drivers Stuck In 120-Mile Traffic Jam

Written By Unknown on Senin, 03 Desember 2012 | 16.15

Tens of thousands of vehicles have been stuck - some for three days - in a huge traffic jam on a motorway northwest of Moscow.

The length of the queue on the M-10 highway, which is one of the busiest in the country, was put at up to 120 miles (200km), according to media reports.

Heavy snow has been blamed for the gridlock - with one driver reported as saying he had travelled just "one kilometre over 24 hours".

Field kitchens have been set up along stretches of the road but many drivers said they are running out of fuel to keep their engines and heating running in the sub-zero temperatures.

"Drivers help one another and that's it, the problems are on the side of the authorities. There are no gasoline tankers, no water, nothing. We are just stuck here," a truck driver called Sergei said.

A police official said that by Sunday evening "the reach of the traffic jam is no longer than 55km and is gradually falling". The motorway is now thought to be moving normally again.

Field kitchens have been set up along the route

But a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has been ordered to report to Mr Medvedev on measures to end the jam and help the stranded motorists.

Russian authorities have been accused of sluggish responses to weather-related problems, including deadly wildfires in 2010 and flooding in the south this summer.

The M-10 highway links Moscow with Russia's second largest city St Petersburg, some 435 miles (700km) from the capital, and stretches on to the border with Finland.

Russia's roads have been the butt of criticism since Tsarist times and its infrastructure has been plagued with problems since the Soviet era when defence spending was high at the expense of roads, housing, healthcare and other civilian needs.


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Japan Tunnel Collapse: Nine People Dead

Nine people are now known to have died after a tunnel collapsed on a busy highway west of Tokyo, officials have said.

The bodies were found in three vehicles crushed by concrete slabs which fell from the roof of the Sasago Tunnel in Yamanashi prefecture.

A fire broke out soon after the cave in and a number of survivors fled to safety on foot.

Rescue work has been suspended while the roof is being reinforced to prevent more collapses.

Jun Goto, an official at the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, said he expected the search to resume later. He said it was unclear whether there were any other victims.

Police and the firm that runs the highway, Central Japan Expressway Co., are investigating why the concrete panels collapsed.

An inspection of the tunnel's roof in September found nothing amiss, according to Satoshi Noguch, a company official.

An estimated 270 concrete slabs suspended from the arched roof of the tunnel fell over a stretch of about  120 yards (110 metres), Mr Noguchi said.

The operator was exploring the possibility that bolts holding a metal piece suspending the panels above the road had become aged, he added.

Sasago Tunnel The accident happened at the Sasago Tunnel in Yamanashi prefecture

The panels were installed when the tunnel was constructed in 1977.

When the disaster struck on Sunday morning, black smoke could be seen billowing from the 2.8-mile (4.7-km) tunnel.

The fire was extinguished at about 11am local time but the rescue and recovery operation has been delayed by concerns that there could be further collapses.

Drivers have described narrow escapes from falling debris, and a long walk through the darkness after abandoning their cars.

"When I was driving in the tunnel, concrete pieces fell down suddenly from the ceiling," a man in his 30s told public broadcaster NHK.

"I saw a crushed car catching fire. I left my car and walked for about an hour to get out of the tunnel."

Another said: "I could hear voices of people calling for help, but the fire was just too strong."

JAPAN-ROAD-ACCIDENT-TUNNEL-FIRE Rescuers had to first deal with a fire in the tunnel

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UK Mulls Withdrawing Ambassador To Israel

Britain is considering withdrawing its ambassador to Israel over the country's settlement building plans, Sky sources say.

The Government is expected to decide later today how to respond to Israel's plan to allow further settlement building in the controversial E1 area of East Jerusalem.

Sources have told Sky News that the Foreign Office is considering what action to take saying "all options are on the table".

This could include withdrawing the British ambassador to Israel and the suspension of trade agreements.

Israel approved proposals to build 3,000 additional homes last week in a plan that could cut off Palestinians in East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

Britain's diplomatic threat comes the day after the settlement plans were derided by the head of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon as an "almost fatal blow" to peace hopes.

Any diplomatic action is likely to be taken in concert with other European powers, with France currently playing a crucial role in coordinating joint action.

Sources have said there is "an appetite for action" within the Foreign Office, which could also take the form of "revisiting" the EU's trade agreements with Israel.

The UK could invoke human rights clauses in order to suspend the trade association agreements.

British Ambassador to Israel Gould visits the site where a rocket landed in Beersheba Ambassador Matthew Gould visiting a rocket site in Israel in 2011

Matthew Gould was appointed as Britain's first Jewish ambassador to Israel in September 2010. 

On taking up the post he said: "We come out determined to help build the strongest possible partnership between Britain and Israel, and to help ensure that Britain and Europe do everything they can to help the people of Israel move forward on the difficult path towards peace and lasting security."

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Suicide Bombers Attack US Base In Afghanistan

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 02 Desember 2012 | 16.15

Taliban suicide bombers have attacked a US base in Afghanistan with explosives and gunfire, sparking a two-hour battle with American forces.

Militants detonated a car bomb at the gate of Jalalabad Airfield before American helicopters opened fire on the militants.

Local police officials said a dozen bodies in Afghan police and military uniforms were around the entrance.

It was not immediately clear whether the dead were Afghan security forces or militants dressed in uniforms, a tactic the Taliban sometimes deploys during its attacks.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed the militants stormed the base, but a spokesman for the Afghan Defence Ministry, General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, said none of the militants had been able to enter.

The Nato military coalition also described it as a failed attack.

Lieutenant Colonel Hagen Messer, a spokesman for the international military coalition, said: "We can confirm insurgents, including multiple suicide bombers, attacked Jalalabad Airfield this morning.

"None of the attackers succeeded in breaching the perimeter."

He said the fighting had ended by mid-morning, and one member of the Afghan security forces had been killed.

Several foreign troops were wounded, but Lt Col Messer did not give any numbers or details.

"The final assessment of what happened this morning is not yet complete, but initial reports indicate there were three suicide bombers," he added.


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NFL Player Shoots Girlfriend Then Himself

An American football player with the Kansas City Chiefs has shot himself dead after reportedly killing his girlfriend.

Javon Belcher, 25, drove to the team's practice facility near Arrowhead Stadium and turned the gun on himself as two team officials were confronting him.

Police spokesman Darin Snapp said authorities received a call from a woman who said her daughter had been shot multiple times at a home around five miles from the stadium in Kansas City.

The call actually came from Belcher's mother, who referred to the victim as her daughter, leading to some initial confusion, police said.

She said her son and his girlfriend, who has been named as 22-year-old Kasandra M Perkins, had been arguing recently. The couple had a three-month-old baby.

Mr Snapp said when police arrived at the practice facility they saw a black male in a car with a handgun to his head talking to two Chiefs officials.

He said the linebacker - who was in his fourth season with the American football franchise - thanked general manager Scott Pioli and head coach Romeo Crennel for all they had done for him, before shooting himself.

He said: "When we arrived (at the house), a lady informed us that her daughter had been shot multiple times by her boyfriend. She identified him as a Chiefs player."

After officers arrived at the training facility, the coaches told them they never felt in danger.

Mr Snapp added: "They were just talking to him and he was thanking them and everything.

"The suspect began to walk in the opposite direction of the coaches and the officers and that's when they heard the gunshot. It appears he took his own life."

Belcher, from West Babylon, New York, played college football at Maine.

"The entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by today's events, and our collective hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy," Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement.

The Chiefs are due to play the Carolina Panthers at Arrowhead on Sunday. The game is expected go ahead as scheduled.


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Japan Tunnel Collapse: Five People Dead

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

Police say at least five people have died after being trapped inside their burning vehicle in a highway tunnel that collapsed in Japan.

The Sasago tunnel on the busy Chuo Expressway, about 50 miles (80 km) west of Tokyo, caved in just after 8am local time.

CCTV footage from inside the tunnel shows large sections of the roof lying across the road. 

Several cars are understood to have been crushed and a fire in the tunnel has complicated the rescue effort.

Motorists described narrow escapes from falling debris, and a long walk through the darkness after abandoning their cars.

"When I was driving in the tunnel, concrete pieces fell down suddenly from the ceiling," a man in his 30s told public broadcaster NHK.

"I saw a crushed car catching fire. I left my car and walked for about an hour to get out of the tunnel."

Aerial footage showed black smoke billowing from the 2.8-mile (4.7-km) tunnel in Yamanashi prefecture.

CCTV footage of inside tunnel collapse CCTV footage shows inside the tunnel

The fire was extinguished about 11am local time but the rescue and recovery operation has been delayed by concerns that there could be further collapses.

The cause of the collapse is not yet clear. There are no reports of earthquakes in the region though there is a suggestion that a landslide could have contributed to the incident.

Given the frequency of earthquakes in the region, the authorities will have access to rescue equipment which will prove useful for this sort of operation.

NHK reporter Yoshio Goto, caught in Sunday's accident, hit the accelerator and managed to drive out.

"But it was a bit too late and pieces of ceiling fell on my car. I kept pressing the pedal and managed to get out," he said.

"Then when I looked around, I saw half of the car ceiling was crushed."

It was the worst such accident in Japan since 1996, when a tunnel collapsed and falling rocks crushed cars and a bus, killing 20 people.


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