Syria: Obama Warns Against Chemical Warfare

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.

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."

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.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

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.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russia: Drivers Stuck In 120-Mile Traffic Jam

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.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

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."

Rescuers had to first deal with a fire in the tunnel

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

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."

More follows...

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Suicide Bombers Attack US Base In Afghanistan

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.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

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.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

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 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.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

West Bank Settlement Plan Blow To Peace Hopes

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

Palestinians say the two-state solution to the Middle East conflict is at death's door after Israel announced it is reviving plans to build on occupied land in a controversial area of East Jerusalem.

The US government is also criticising Israel for the move.

"This administration - like previous administrations - has been very clear with Israel that these activities set back the cause of a negotiated peace," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Washington.

E1 is the only large area of empty land left between East Jerusalem and the West Bank, sandwiched between Israeli settlements.

Reviving plans to build a settlement there could be fatal for the peace process, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told Sky News in Washington.

"It would kill it. This would be the last nail in the coffin of the peace process a process that fulfils that which has been and has become a matter of international consensus. The two state solution to this conflict. It simply cannot happen if E1 is implemented."

Palestinians say they cannot sign any peace deal that does not have at least a part of Jerusalem as their capital, for religious and political reasons.

An Israeli settlement on E1 would make a land corridor between that capital and the rest of a Palestinian state impossible.

That makes building on E1 a very different proposition to other Israeli settlement plans. For that reason former US President George Bush made then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promise not to build on E1 and put construction plans there on ice.

Danny Seidemann, from Jerusalem NGO Ir Amim, told Sky News: "E1 is the fatal heart attack of the two-state solution.

"If E1 is built there is no possibility of a contiguous viable Palestinian state and no possibility of connecting East Jerusalem and its hinterland on the West Bank."

An Israeli government spokesman told Sky News those plans are now being unfrozen.

"Planning is now going ahead," he said.

No decision to build has yet been taken but extensive plans are known to already exist.

Israel is responding to a vote in the United Nations General Assembly to recognise Palestine as a non-member state. Some 138 countries voted in favour of the move, only eight supported Israel in opposing it.

Israel has also said it will build 3,000 new units in existing settlements.

Under all interpretations of international law, Israel's settlements on occupied land are illegal.

Israel agreed to freeze settlement construction under the Roadmap for Peace plan in 2002 but has failed to comply with that commitment.

A European diplomatic source told Sky News: "If Israel officially confirms plans to expedite settlement building in E1 area, it will elicit a 'strong response' from European states."

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More