Man 'Used Facebook To Contact Al Qaeda'

A man who used Facebook to connect with al Qaeda operatives has pleaded guilty to a terrorism charge in a US court.

Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen admitted that he tried to help al Qaeda by offering to provide weapons training to the terror group.

The 24-year-old entered the guilty plea before US District Court Judge John F. Walter. Nguyen faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Nguyen was caught by an undercover FBI agent posing as a recruiter for al Qaeda. He was arrested by federal agents in October.

He said he planned to offer himself as a trainer for al Qaeda forces to ambush troops in Syria, where he had already spent five months fighting with rebels.

Assistant US Attorney Judith Heinz said Nguyen underwent 50 hours of interrogation during which he confessed to his plan.

Nguyen's admission was contained in a plea agreement filed in federal court, according to a US attorney's press release issued after the plea was entered and accepted.

"Nguyen admitted that approximately one year ago he travelled to Syria where he joined opposition forces," the statement said.

"Using a social network site during a four-month period he was in Syria, Nguyen told people that he was fighting against the Assad regime and that he had had a 'confirmed kill'."

Nguyen returned to the US, where he told associates he had offered to train al Qaeda forces in Syria but was turned down.

The judge who accepted the guilty plea had previously expressed scepticism about whether Nguyen had any special skills to offer the terror group.

Prosecutors said that between August 3 and October 11 Nguyen met with a man he thought was an al Qaeda recruiter but who actually was working for the FBI.

Nguyen is due to be sentenced on March 21.

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India Gang Rape Victim Was Attacked Twice

A young woman was kidnapped and raped by two gangs in India - a year after a fatal rape shook the nation.

Police have arrested 10 people and charged six of them with raping the 21-year-old victim in southern India.

Officer Monika Bharadwaj said the woman was abducted and raped while visiting a friend in Karaikal, a port city in Pondicherry state.

Ms Bhardwaj said that the woman had been hospitalised but that she did not suffer serious injuries.

Police have also detained a juvenile male for not informing the police about the crime.

There were protests after the gang rape of a student on a bus last year

Police said the woman was first kidnapped by three of the accused around midnight on Tuesday and released after nearly three hours of captivity.

As she called her friend to pick her up after she was freed, another group of seven people came in a vehicle and took her away, Ms Bhardwaj said.

Police were questioning the accused to find out whether they knew each other or belonged to two separate groups.

The assault came days after India marked the anniversary of the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in New Delhi.

That rape and murder sparked nationwide protests.

The outrage spurred the government to adopt more stringent laws that doubled prison terms for rape to 20 years.

Fast-track courts have been created for rape cases.

Four attackers in the New Delhi case were sentenced to death and a juvenile was sent to a reform centre for three years.

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Thailand Protests: Gunman Shoots One Dead

A gunman has opened fire at opposition protesters in Bangkok, killing one person and wounding several others.

The shooting follows weeks of anti-government protests in Thailand as demonstrators seek to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The protests have triggered bloody clashes between police and demonstrators.

A protester died after he was shot in the torso and three others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds, a spokesman for the city's Erawan emergency centre said.

The protests have triggered bloody clashes across Thailand

Police have confirmed the shooting, but said its forensic team was unable to access the scene of the incident.

The shooting occurred where a group of protesters had camped overnight close to Government House.

Local media reports said the shots were fired from a passing car by more than one gunman.

Ms Yingluck has called February elections in the hope of bringing an end to the demonstrations.

But the protesters have vowed to block the vote, saying it will only return the Shinawatra clan to power.

A second round of registration for constituency candidates is due to begin around the country on Saturday, raising fears of further clashes.

Eight people, including a policeman, have been killed and about 400 wounded in several outbreaks of street violence.

The government has said it will ask the army to provide security for election candidates and voters.

A policeman and a civilian died of gunshots fired by unknown assailants while 153 people were injured after violence erupted on Thursday when demonstrators tried to force their way into an election registration venue.

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China Condemns Japan PM's Visit To War Shrine

Japan's nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has paid an inflammatory visit to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine.

China immediately condemned the move as glorification of Japan's past "militaristic aggression" and warned Tokyo must "bear the consequences".

Mr Abe described his visit, which comes days after he caused consternation by giving Japan's military its second consecutive annual budget increase, as a pledge against war and said it was not aimed at hurting feelings in China or South Korea.

The Yasukuni shrine is seen as the repository of around 2.5 million souls of Japan's war dead, including several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II who were enshrined in the 1970s.

South Korea and China see it as a symbol of Tokyo's lack of repentance for the horrors of the last century.

Mr Abe said in a statement: "Some people criticise the visit to Yasukuni as paying homage to war criminals, but the purpose of my visit today is to report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage a war again.

"For 68 years after the war, Japan created a free and democratic country, and consistently walked the path of peace. There is no doubt whatsoever that we will continue to pursue this path.

A Shinto priest leads Shinzo Abe to the altar

"It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people. It is my wish to respect each other's character, protect freedom and democracy, and build friendship with China and Korea with respect."

The visit came exactly 12 months after he took power, a period in which he has met neither Chinese President Xi Jinping nor South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.

Ties with Beijing were bad before Mr Abe took office, with the two countries crossing diplomatic swords over the ownership of a string of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, controlled by Japan, but claimed by China.

The dispute has been ratcheted up further this year, with the involvement of military aircraft and ships, leaving some observers warning of the danger of armed conflict between the world's second and third-largest economies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: "The essence of Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni shrine is to beautify Japan's history of militaristic aggression and colonial rule."

South Korean culture minister Yoo Jin-Ryong said: "We can't help deploring and expressing anger at the prime minister's visit to the Yasukuni shrine despite concerns and warnings by neighbouring countries."

The United States said: "Japan is a valued ally and friend. Nevertheless, the United States is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbours."

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Acid Attacks: India Victims Demand Action

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News producer, Delhi

Sapna, 20, considers herself lucky to have escaped with just a few burns on her face and upper body. She's one of the latest victims of an acid attack in India.

A spurned relative threw industrial acid when she rejected his advances.

There are no exact figures because these attacks are not recorded separately - but campaigners fear they are increasing.

In a landmark judgement the Supreme Court has ordered the government to regulate the sale of acid, compensate the victims and impose stiffer sentences.

For example, the government now has to pay for the medical treatment of the victims.

But Sapna is yet to receive any money for her treatment.

Preeti Rathi, framed, died from an acid attack in Bombay

She said: "The government does not care for us victims. They may arrest the man and keep him in jail for a few years but our lives have been ruined.

"The men should be punished so badly that no one will ever think of attempting to ruin a girl's life."

The Rathi family grieve for their 24-year-old daughter who died after an acid attack six months ago.

She had got a coveted job with the Indian navy. Her father says she was looking forward to her new life in Mumbai.

But when she arrived at the train station in Mumbai, a masked man threw acid on her.

Preeti was blinded and the liquid she swallowed burned her insides. She died in hospital a month later.

Her father says: "I want the culprit to go through the suffering that my daughter went through.

Laxmi was attacked six years ago and still has problems with her sight

"Hanging will give him instant death but he will not experience the hell he inflicted on her. I want an eye for an eye."

The culprit is yet to be traced - the grainy CCTV images cannot identify him.

Preeti's parents have been petitioning authorities for an investigation by the central government.

They even door-stepped the home minister of India in charge of the police.

The minister, Sunil Kumar Shinde, told them he's directed the relevant state department of Maharashtra to look into the case.

Preeti's mother is unconvinced with his reply and told Sky News such ministers just make statements but can't give justice.

"My daughter fought for her life for a month - we want a proper investigation and that they can't give us," she said. 

Campaigners are pressing for harsher sentences for attacks on women

India's deputy home minister RP Singh told Sky News the government has made laws and taken action against acid attacks.

"We have made it a different category in our bill which we amended and the government has made it more difficult for its sale," he said.

But many, like Laxmi, believe the government is still doing very little.

She survived an acid attack six years ago when a man threw the liquid when she spurned his advances.

It burned her face and upper body - her eyes were seriously damaged. She is now an active campaigner for the rights of victims.

It was her petition to the Supreme Court that initiated the changes in law.

But she's dismayed the government is doing nothing to help rehabilitate victims - one of her key demands.

She says she will challenge the government for not doing enough.

"We are not to blame for what happened to us. We are just not survivors. Only we know what we go through when walking down the streets," she said.

"Relatives and friends stop meeting us, our careers are destroyed. Society, the laws and the government don't care if we are living or dead."

India is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman.

The horrific gang rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in Delhi in December 2012 has stirred the nation's soul.

Unprecedented protests took place in the national capital and across the country.

The brutality of the crime pressurised the government and the judiciary to frame new laws and make changes in the older ones to protect women. 

Fast-track courts were established to deal with such cases and stricter punishment enforced.

But until the regulation in the sale of acid is strictly enforced, and these crimes are severely and swiftly punished, such attacks will continue.

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Explosion In Central Beirut's Business District

An explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut has killed at least five people, according to the state news agency.

The car bomb exploded in the city's business district sending a large plume of black smoke up in the air. 

Civil Defence personnel extinguish car fires at the scene

Security sources told Reuters that former Lebanese Minister Mohammad Chatah was among those killed in the explosion. 

Chatah was reportedly an adviser to former anti-Syria coalition prime ministers Saad Hariri and Fuad Siniora.

Smoke rises from the site of the explosion

The prominent economist and former finance minister was killed as he headed to Hariri's mansion in the city centre.

He was due to attend a meeting of the March 14 anti-Syria coalition which backs the Syrian opposition struggle to topple the Damascus regime.

Lebanese army personnel at the site of the explosion

Ambulances are currently at the seen of the explosion and troops have been deployed. 

Lebanon has seen a wave of bombings over the last few months amid tensions over the Syrian civil war.

More follows...

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Egypt Names Muslim Brotherhood A Terror Group

Egypt's military-backed government has declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, criminalising all of its activities.

The interim government also banned any financing of the Muslim Brotherhood and membership to it.

The announcement is a dramatic escalation of the fight between the government and the group, from which the ousted president hails.

The Brotherhood has waged near-daily protests since the military coup that toppled President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

A man surveys the damage caused by Tuesday's bomb attack

Hossam Eissa, the Minister of Higher Education, read out the Cabinet statement after a long meeting.

He said: "The Cabinet has declared the Muslim Brotherhood group and its organisation as a terrorist organisation."

He said that the decision was in response to Tuesday's bombing of police headquarters in a Nile Delta city which killed 16 people and wounded more than 100.

"Egypt was horrified from north to south by the hideous crime committed by the Muslim Brotherhood group," Mr Eissa said.

"This was in context of dangerous escalation to violence against Egypt and Egyptians (and) a clear declaration by the Muslim Brotherhood group that it still knows nothing but violence.

Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was ousted in July

"It's not possible for Egypt the state, nor Egypt the people, to submit to the Muslim Brotherhood terrorism," he added.

Mr Eissa offered no evidence in his speech linking the Brotherhood to Tuesday's attack.

The Brotherhood, founded in 1928, denounced violence in the late 1970s.

Ibrahim Elsayed, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's political group, the Freedom and Justice Party, said the government announcement will have no impact on the work or the beliefs of the group.

"This decision is as if it never happened. It has no value for us and is only worth the paper it is written on," he said.

"It won't impact us from near and far. Ideas won't be impacted by false accusations. We uphold this call only for the sake of God."

Ahmed el-Borai, the Minister of Social Solidarity, told reporters in a news conference that the decision means "all activities of the Muslim Brotherhood group are banned including the demonstrations."

The declaration gives the armed forces and the police the right to enter universities and prevent protests, as "protection to the students," Mr el-Borai said.

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Israel Defends 'Racist' Bedouin Removal Policy

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in Umm al Hiran

Israeli government officials have rushed to defend the forced removal of up to 40,000 Israeli citizens of Arab descent from their homes in the Negev to new towns amid a growing clamour of protest and accusations that the policy is racist.

A bill that would enshrine the removal of thousands of Bedouin from their traditional lands and end a rural way of life dating back centuries is currently before the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.

But the removals have already begun.

Dozens of homes built in what the government calls "unrecognised villages" have been bulldozed over the last few years.

Ami Tesler: 'There is no racism here ... it's an opportunity'

And the village of Umm al Hiran has been served notice that it will be flattened, its 500 residents forced out and a Jewish development built in its place.

Such events are commonplace on the Israeli-occupied West Bank where Palestinians face severe construction limitations while illegal Jewish settlements continue a concrete march across Palestinian lands.

But the Negev plans in the Prawer-Begin Bill affect Bedouin who are ethnically Arab - but also full Israeli citizens.

Rabi Arik Ascherman, president of Rabbis for Human Rights, an Israeli human rights organisation said: "We are without a doubt treating the Bedouin in a way that we would not treat Jews in this country.

"The fact that the government has decided to build a Jewish community right where we're standing, that Jewish community will get all of the services, all of the infrastructure, and there will be no question about it."

The Israeli plan is to move some 90,000 Bedouin from 36 villages into seven existing towns and another 11 which will be given recognition.

These Bedouin, who have a long history of loyalty to the Jewish state and send some 300 volunteers to the Israel Defence Force every year, will be given plots in planned areas with connections to water and electricity plus a grant of about £20,000 to build a home.

A Bedouin boy leans over tarpaulin in the Bir Mshash in Israel

Those who leave behind a tent or house may receive additional compensation of about £10,000.

The controversial plan is being run directly from the offices of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister.

Ami Tesler, the head of the community relation department in the PM's "headquarters for Economic and Community Development of the Negev Bedouin" insist that most Bedouin would accept the "generous formula for compensation".

He admits, though, that the grant and compensation payments would not be enough to build a home "probably a caravan type place but if they work hard they can do much better".

"There is no racism here. On the contrary it's an opportunity for the Bedouins who were neglected because of many things. Now is the time to change this. It is the time to bring them to the 21st century.

"I think that what we are doing today is for the benefit of the Bedouins and especially for the young generation ... We want to give them an opportunity.

"And looking forward 20 years from now we want the babies of the Bedouin to have more education, more skills for life, so at the age of 18 they will have the same opportunities as my kids."

Bedouins ride donkeys in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim

In Uma al Hiran, children have a long bus ride and a dusty walk each way to and from a school in a "recognised" village.

But when they get home they are part of a tight-knit community rich in goats and sheep which was settled on this hill-top spot close to the West Bank when their ancestors were forced out of another Negev area by the Israeli army in 1956.

"We've done everything and now the state wants to bring Jews to replace us, and I say we should live here together.

"This is unacceptable, enough with the racism, enough with the hate," says Salim Abu Khian.

His son served in the IDF until recently.

"The townships are full of crime and I don't want to bring my children up in that way of life," he said.

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China Condemns Japan PM's Visit To War Shrine

Japan's nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has paid an inflammatory visit to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine.

Beijing immediately condemned the move as glorification of Japan's past "militaristic aggression" and warned Tokyo must "bear the consequences".

Mr Abe described his visit, which comes days after he caused consternation by giving Japan's military its second consecutive annual budget increase, as a pledge against war and said it was not aimed at hurting feelings in China or South Korea.

The Yasukuni shrine is seen as the repository of around 2.5 million souls of Japan's war dead, including several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II who were enshrined in the 1970s.

South Korea and China see it as a symbol of Tokyo's lack of repentance for the horrors of the last century.

Mr Abe said in a statement: "Some people criticise the visit to Yasukuni as paying homage to war criminals, but the purpose of my visit today is to report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage a war again.

"For 68 years after the war, Japan created a free and democratic country, and consistently walked the path of peace. There is no doubt whatsoever that we will continue to pursue this path.

A Shinto priest leads Shinzo Abe to the altar

"It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people. It is my wish to respect each other's character, protect freedom and democracy, and build friendship with China and Korea with respect."

The visit came exactly 12 months after he took power, a period in which he has met neither China's President Xi Jinping or South Korea's President Park Geun-Hye.

Ties with Beijing were bad before Mr Abe took office, with the two countries crossing diplomatic swords over the ownership of a string of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, controlled by Japan, but claimed by China.

The dispute has been ratcheted up further this year, with the involvement of military aircraft and ships, leaving some observers warning of the danger of armed conflict between the world's second- and third-largest economies.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: "The essence of Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni shrine is to beautify Japan's history of militaristic aggression and colonial rule."

South Korea's culture minister Yoo Jin-Ryong said: "We can't help deploring and expressing anger at the prime minister's visit to the Yasukuni shrine despite concerns and warnings by neighbouring countries."

The United States said: "Japan is a valued ally and friend. Nevertheless, the United States is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbours."

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South Sudan: 'Thousands Dead' In Ethnic Clashes

Mass graves have been uncovered in South Sudan amid evidence ethnic clashes have left thousands dead.

Dozens of bodies were discovered at a burial site in the country's oil-rich Unity State and there were reports of two other mass graves elsewhere.

Violence has flared in a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and his ex-deputy Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer.

The bodies in the grave are thought to be among 75 Dinkas who have gone missing.

A displaced woman lies on her belongings

Meanwhile, a journalist in the capital, Juba, quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly Nuers, had been shot by security forces.

UN humanitarian chief Toby Lanzer said there was "absolutely no doubt"  that thousands of people had been killed.

His comments are the first clear indication of the scale of conflict engulfing the young nation.

Britain has sent a senior diplomat to South Sudan to assist efforts to restore peace, as the UN voted to boost the size of its force from 7,000 to 12,500.

South Sudan is the world's newest nation

Reports suggest that British nationals are among an estimated 3,000 foreigners trapped in the city of Bor, which was seized by rebels last week.

President Kiir said that government troops had now retaken control of the city.

UN spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the victims discovered in the grave were reportedly members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

UN soldiers on guard to protect the displaced people

She said there were unconfirmed reports of least two more mass graves in Jebel-Kujur and Newside, near Juba.

Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have fled to the countryside, leading to warnings of an imminent humanitarian disaster.

Tens of thousands more civilians have sought protection at badly overstretched UN bases.

At least 20,000 are sheltering at two bases in Juba, and another 17,000 in Bor, capital of the precarious eastern Jonglei state.

"The estimated number of people displaced in the current crisis in South Sudan has risen to 81,000," a UN report said.

"Given the limited access to civilians outside population centres, the number is likely to be significantly higher."                 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned warring factions that reports of crimes against humanity will be investigated.

Fighting started more than a week ago when President Kiir accused his former deputy of attempting a coup.

Mr Machar has denied the claim and has in turn accused Mr Kiir of carrying out a vicious purge of his rivals.

The country has been blighted by ethnic divisions, corruption and poverty since it won independence in 2011.

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