Pakistan Army Checkpoint Attack: 23 Killed

Militants have attacked an army checkpoint in Pakistan's northwest, killing at least 23 people - including 10 members of one family.

The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the attack on the isolated post at Lakki Marwat was in response to a US drone strike in neighbouring North Waziristan last month, which killed two commanders.

Officials said nine soldiers and four members of the Frontier Constabulary that polices the area died during the initial assault and subsequent crossfire.

Ten civilians - including three women and three children - were killed in a rocket attack on a house next to the camp. Twelve militants also died.

Friday's mosque attack

"Pakistan has been co-operating with the US in its drone strikes that killed our two senior commanders, Faisal Khan and Toofani, and the attack on military camp was the revenge of their killing," a Taliban spokesman said.

He said four suicide bombers targeted the camp in the town of Serai Naurang in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and blew themselves up. More than a dozen soldiers were killed, he added.

The raid followed a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque in the northwest on Friday that killed 24 people.

It was the latest in a rising number of sectarian attacks in the country.

Since 2009, the military and pro-government militias have regained territory from the Taliban, who once controlled land a few hours' drive from the capital Islamabad.

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India Gang Rape Accused Plead Not Guilty

Five men accused of the brutal murder and gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student on a Delhi bus have denied the allegations.

They pleaded not guilty after being indicted on 13 charges in a special fast-track court in the capital.

The defendants are due back in court on February 5, when the prosecution will call three witnesses to the formal start of the trial.

The accused, aged between 19 and 35 and who have been named as Ram Singh, Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta, could face the death penalty if convicted.

They reportedly filed into the courtroom with their faces concealed with scarves amid heavy security.

Demonstrators have called for tougher punishments for sex crimes in India

A sixth 17-year-old suspect will be tried separately in a juvenile court where the maximum sentence is three years in a reform facility.

The victim was repeatedly raped and assaulted with a metal bar during the attack on December 16.

Her male companion was beaten up, before they were both thrown off a moving bus and dumped naked on the roadside.

The young woman died from her internal injuries two weeks later in a hospital in Singapore.

Her death has triggered nationwide protests about violence against women, and sparked debate about their treatment in India and the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them.

Saturday's court hearing comes a day after India's cabinet backed harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty.

The changes are expected to become law as early as this weekend, but will also need to be ratified by parliament at a later date.

Law minister Ashwani Kumar said: "We have taken swift action and hope these steps will make women feel safer in the country."

Under the current law, a rapist faces a prison term of between seven and 10 years.

The changes would see the minimum sentence for gang rape, rape of a minor, rape by a police officer or a person in authority, double - and extended to life without parole.

New offences such as voyeurism and stalking are also set to be introduced.

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Egypt: Police Beat Protester Outside Palace

Bloody Scenes Expected In Port Said

Updated: 11:11pm UK, Thursday 31 January 2013

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in Port Said

This city has always prided itself on resistance to invaders.

The people of Port Said believe they saw off the British in the 1950s and the Israelis in the 1960s.

Now they're rolling up their sleeves to take on Egypt's president, Mohammed Morsi, promising a second round of bloodletting in as many weeks.

A beach resort city that guards the Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal, Port Said, was torn by violence last weekend.

Thirty people and two policemen were killed in running street battles.

Locals deny that any of them shot at the police. But there are bullet holes in the walls of the partly burned officers club on the sea front that say otherwise.

Still, there is no hiding the violence that the city met when protestors attacked the prison.

Dozens of market stalls and tiny homes were razed during the fighting – local businesses were riddled with bullets.

The prison was attacked because it housed 21 men condemned to death for their parts in the killing of 74 football fans during a riot on February 1 last year.

Some 59 others, among them nine police, are still waiting for their verdicts in the jail.

The killings last week have fuelled what was already going to be an incendiary brew on the day marking the first anniversary of the riot in which supporters of the Cairo team Al Ahly were beaten and crushed to death.

Ansaf Mousa's son Osama el Sherbiri, 23, an IT graduate was killed last week during the demonstrations.

"Morsi has blood on his hands. Osama el Sherbini exploded the whole world. His death will fuel an explosion.

"There will be a protest against Morsi like none before. This will be the nuclear explosion that blows up the whole place."

Her anger is shared by families across the city.

The bullet that killed Osama wounded his friend Mohammed.

"The youth will be on the streets (on February 1), they have to be to take revenge for Osama and all the others. This isn't going to end here."

A state of emergency was declared in Port Suez, Ismailia and Port Said last week. Curfews imposed for most of the night hours have since been cut back to a token regulation of the small hours of the morning as they were entirely ignored anyway.

General Abdel Fatteh al Sisi, the commander of the Egyptian armed forces, has warned that he fears the nation may fall apart .

He singled out the Suez City as especially troubling – promising to ensure the security of the canal as his top priority.

The region, though prosperous and benefiting from tax free zones and $5.2bn (£3.3bn) in revenues to Egypt for transit fees for shipping, is not associated with the secular middle class that had driven so much of the revolution in Cairo.

Osama's family are deeply religious. Many of the men have callused foreheads from years of prayer.

Yet they object to the Muslim Brotherhood's domination of Egypt's constitutional process and presidency.

"The Muslim Brotherhood are not Muslims – they are just after power," said Osama's mother.

That, in Port Said, seems to be the dominant view.

In a downtown coffee house clattering with domino players El Badry Farghali, a veteran MP who has opposed the military governments which were swept away two years ago and the new Muslim Brotherhood regime ever since, held court to a new generation of young protestors.

"The Muslim Brotherhood will not give up power. They will only manoeuvre. They are backward. They do not have the capacity to run the country on their own. And they will not make concessions. But the Egyptian people will force them to back down," he said.

Port Said has chosen the anniversary of the football chaos to drive home a political message. The odds are that it will be written in blood.

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Alabama Hostage-Taker Bragged About Bunker

A neighbour of a man who has taken a child hostage in an underground bunker said he had been building it for months.

Police said Jimmy Lee Dykes killed school bus driver Charles Albert Poland, 66, on Tuesday before abducting a five-year-old boy and taking him to his home-made bunker at his rural Alabama property.

Since the standoff, negotiators have been trying to persuade the 65-year-old loner to surrender through a ventilation pipe connected to the bunker.

The Vietnam veteran has been described by neighbours as a menacing figure who held anti-government views.

More than 100 people gathered for a candlelight vigil on Thursday

Neighbour Michael Creel said the suspect spent two or three months constructing the bunker, digging into the ground and then building a structure of lumber and plywood, which he covered with sand and dirt.

He said Dykes put the plastic pipe underground from the bunker to the end of his driveway so he could hear if anyone drove up to his gate.

When Dykes finished the shelter a year or so ago, he invited Mr Creel to see it - and he did.

"He was bragging about it. He said, 'Come check it out'," Mr Creel said.

He said he believes Dykes' goal with the stand-off is to publicise his political beliefs.

"I believe he wants to rant and rave about politics and government. He's very concerned about his property. He doesn't want his stuff messed with," said Mr Creel.

Neighbours said Dykes once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe and threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property.

Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday to answer charges he shot a gun at his neighbours in an argument last month about a speed bump.

James Arrington, police chief of the neighbouring town of Pinckard, said the storm shelter was about 4ft underground with about 6ft-by-8ft of floor space.

"It's pretty small, but he's been known to stay in there eight days," he said. "He will have to give up sooner or later because (authorities) are not leaving."

Officials have confirmed the boy has Asperger's and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Police do not believe he has been harmed.

Republican lawmaker Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, said he visited the boy's mother on Thursday and that she is "hanging on by a thread".

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Embassy Attack: Group Claims Responsibility

A leftist group has said it was responsible for a suicide attack at an entrance to the US embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara, which killed the bomber and a guard.

The attacker's device went off as he was going through an X-ray machine at a security gatehouse, Sky sources said.

Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan had earlier pointed the finger at the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front.

On Saturday the group - also known as DHKP-C - claimed responsibility in a statement on its website.

The White House has condemned the suicide bombing as a "terrorist attack".

White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "A suicide bombing on the perimeter of an embassy is by definition an act of terror. It is a terrorist attack."

Damage can be seen at a side entrance of the embassy

The perpetrator had reportedly spent time in prison on terrorism-related charges. He was believed to be aged about 30 and used plastic explosives in the embassy atrocity.

The DHKP-C is a Marxist-Leninist group that has claimed responsibility for suicide bombings against police stations in recent years.

The group has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union.

A Turkish guard was killed in the blast and another Turkish citizen, believed to be a journalist, was wounded.

TV footage showed a door blown out at a side entrance and there was scattered masonry from a wall, although there did not appear to be any more significant structural damage.

Police cordoned off the area following the explosion, which sent smoke and debris flying into the street.

Medics treat a woman who was injured in the blast

Americans were warned to avoid visiting the embassy or US consulates in Istanbul and Adana until further notice, and were told to register on the State Department's website.

"The Department of State advises US citizens travelling or residing in Turkey to be alert to the potential for violence, to avoid those areas where disturbances have occurred, and to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings," said a statement by the US Consulate in Istanbul.

The State Department said the explosion occurred on the perimeter of the embassy.

A spokeswoman said: "We are working closely with the Turkish national police to make a full assessment of the damage and the casualties, and to begin an investigation."

Foreign Secretary William Hague also condemned the bombing, and UK businesses in Turkey have been urged to be vigilant.

Far-left groups in Turkey oppose what they see as US influence over Turkish foreign policy.

Turkey is a key US ally in the Middle East with common interests ranging from energy security to counter-terrorism.

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French Mayor 'Forced Tourists Past His Shops'

The mayor of French landmark Mont Saint Michel - one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world - has been accused of profiting by forcing millions of tourists to walk past his shops and restaurants.

Eric Vannier owns around 80% of the businesses on the mount and 20% of those on the adjoining coast, earning him 29 million euros (£25m) a year, according to France 24.

He is alleged to have changed the route of shuttle buses to the famed rocky island and its Gothic-style Benedictine abbey so tourists would pass his establishments - including Hotel de la Digue and the Relais Saint Michel, another hotel. 

The move, which took effect last April, means tourists being ferried between the mainland car park and the mount have to walk 900 metres to a bus stop to be shuttled to the rock.

Eric Vannier (left) and his rival Patrick Gaulois in court this week

"The departure point is right in the middle of two businesses run by Mr Vannier," prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul told Coutances criminal court in Normandy, adding that the move "had a direct impact on his businesses".

He called on the judge to impose a suspended six-month prison sentence and a 30,000 euro (£26,000) fine on the mayor.

Vannier, who was elected mayor of Mont Saint Michel in 1983 until 2001, and again in 2008 until present - denies any conflict of interest.

The 60-year-old told the court: "I truly defended the public interest, as always."

The court case is the result of a complaint filed by a political and business rival of Vannier, former Mont Saint Michel mayor Patrick Gaulois, who was in office between 2001 and 2008.

A ruling is expected on February 27.

A Unesco World Heritage site, Mont Saint Michel is visited by more than 2.5 million tourists each year.

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Fireworks Truck Explodes Killing Nine In China

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

Nine people have been killed after an explosion on a truck carrying fireworks caused a road bridge to collapse in central China.

Rescue crews search for survivors

The blast happened on the Yichang Bridge in Henan Province, injuring another 13 people, according to state media.

Photographs posted on social media just after the accident at 8.50am local time showed a large truck lying on its side way below the highway. 

Another photograph showed what appears to be a remarkable escape for other drivers with at least one vehicle seen balancing on the edge of the bridge.

Earlier, the state news agency had reported that as many as 26 people were killed. No reason was given for the discrepancy.

A truck teeters on the edge of the collapsed bridge

Up to 25 vehicles fell from the 30 metre bridge - six of which have been recovered - suggesting that the death toll could have been worse.

Details of exactly what happened are not clear but witnesses say they saw the truck explode and "about 10" cars blown off the bridge by the blast.

Six people are known to have died instantly in the accident. Others died of their injuries in nearby hospitals.

Witnesses say they saw the truck explode and cars blown off the bridge

The Yichang Bridge forms part of a busy multi-lane highway in central China. Local media reports claim that the south side of the bridge collapsed completely and cracks have appeared on the northern carriageway.

If the details of the cause are confirmed to be correct, then the incident combines two tragically common themes in China: badly constructed bridges and an abundance of badly regulated fireworks.

Annually, fireworks form a central part of Chinese New Year which this year falls next weekend.

Up to 25 vehicles fell from the bridge - six of which have been recovered.

To a far greater extent than in Europe or America, revellers use fireworks to celebrate, sometimes paying little attention to safety.

A spate of accidents over many years has promoted the authorities to impose better controls on the manufacture, transport, sale and use of fireworks.

On January 18, a firework explosion destroyed a two-storey home in Hebei Province killing three people and injuring eleven.

For a period, the transport and use of fireworks was banned in the Chinese capital Beijing but regular appeals from the public forced officials to relent.

In 2009, the newly-built China Central Television Building in Beijing was gutted by fire. The cause was confirmed to be fireworks set off inside the building.

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Bolshoi Acid Attack: New Production Halted

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent

The Bolshoi Ballet has postponed its new production because of the acid attack on its artistic director.

A spokesperson for the theatre confirmed to Sky News that its planned performance of The Rite of Spring would be delayed until Sergei Filin was able to return to work.

Earlier this week Svetlana Lunkina, a leading Bolshoi ballerina who had been due to star in the production, said she had fled to Canada and was too scared to return to Russia after also receiving threats.

The threats to Lunkina are thought to be linked to her husband's business dealings and are not connected to the attack on Filin.

Filin has undergone a series of operations to try to save his eyesight after a masked man threw acid in his face outside his Moscow flat last month.

He is expected to be transferred to a hospital in Germany next week for further treatment, but it is still unclear whether he will regain full sight in both eyes.

Sergei Filin before and after the attack

The Bolshoi had been due to premier a new version of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in March, as part of a festival of dance to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the work.

It was one of the famous Russian ballet company's most eagerly anticipated performances of the year, and had involved the award-winning British choreographer Wayne McGregor.

In a statement, the Bolshoi said: "The Bolshoi management and the stage team led by Wayne McGregor have taken a joint decision to postpone The Rite of Spring as Sergei Filin is undergoing treatment."

It said that new dates for the production would be announced once Filin was well enough to return to his position at the theatre.

The former star dancer has said he believes the attack was motivated by those "seeking to satisfy their ambitions", but that he has forgiven all those involved and is determined to return to work.

No arrests have yet been made.

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Mexico: Pemex Oil Company HQ Blast Kills 32

An explosion at the headquarters of Mexican oil company Pemex has killed 32 people and injured more than 120 others.

The state-owned firm confirmed the growing number of fatalities, which included 20 women and 12 men.

Some 52 people remain in hospital following the blast which blew out windows and damaged three floors of the 51-storey skyscraper in Mexico City's commercial centre.

Authorities have promised a thorough investigation, as hundreds of firefighters, police and soldiers continue to search for survivors.

The blast occurred in the basement of an administrative building next to the tower, where thousands of people work.

Ana Vargas Palacio was distraught as she searched for her missing husband, Daniel Garcia Garcia, 36, who works in the building. She last heard from him at 1pm.

"I called his phone many times, but a young man answered and told me he found the phone in the debris," she said.

The two have an 11-year-old daughter. His mother, Gloria Garcia Castaneda, collapsed on a friend's arm, crying, "My son. My son."

The blast happened in a busy central district of Mexico City

Television images showed people being carried out of the building on office chairs. Most of them showed injuries likely to have been caused by falling debris.

Pemex - full name Petroleos Mexicanos - said in a tweet that several workers were injured in the blast but no one answered at its offices.

There was no immediate cause given for the blast, but in an earlier tweet, the company said it had evacuated the building because of problems with the electricity.

"It was an explosion, a shock, the lights went out and suddenly there was a lot of debris," employee Cristian Obele told Milenio television, adding that he had been injured in the leg.

President Enrique Pena Nieto urged people not to speculate.

"We have no conclusive report on the reason," he said, pledging a probe "to get to the bottom" of the blast.

The main floor and the mezzanine of the auxiliary building, where the explosion occurred, were heavily damaged, along with windows as far as three floors up.

Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong said it was uncertain if any of the 10,000 people who work in the five-building headquarters were still trapped, but that the search would continue.

Maria Concepcion Andrade, 42, who lives on the block of Pemex building, said: "We were talking and all of sudden we heard an explosion with white smoke and glass falling from the windows.

"People started running from the building covered in dust. A lot of pieces were flying."

Police landed four rescue helicopters to remove the dead or injured. About a dozen tow trucks were furiously moving cars to make more landing room for the helicopters.

Streets surrounding the building were closed as evacuees wandered around.

Shortly before the explosion, Pemex operations director Carlos Murrieta said on Twitter that the company had reduced its accident rate in recent years. Most Pemex accidents have occurred at pipeline and refinery installations.

A fire at a pipeline metering centre in northeast Mexico near the Texas border killed 30 workers in September, the largest-single toll in at least a decade for the company.

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Turkey: Bombing At US Embassy By 'Far-Left'

A suicide bomber has carried out an attack at an entrance to the US embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara, killing himself and a guard.

The bomber's device went off as he was going through an X-ray machine at a security gatehouse, Sky sources said.

Turkish interior minister Muammer Guler said the attacker was a "militant" connected to a banned far-left group in the country.

He reportedly was a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) and spent time in prison on terrorism-related charges.

He was believed to be aged about 30 and used plastic explosives in the embassy atrocity.

The DHKP-C is a Marxist-Leninist group that has claimed responsibility for suicide bombings against police stations in recent years. There have been no claims of responsibility for Friday's attack.

Damage can be seen at a side entrance of the embassy

A Turkish guard was killed in the blast and another Turkish citizen, believed to be a journalist, was wounded.

The US State Department said the explosion occurred on the perimeter of the embassy.

"We can confirm a terrorist blast at a checkpoint on the perimeter of our embassy compound in Ankara, Turkey, at 1.13pm local time, or 6:13 am ET," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

"We are working closely with the Turkish national police to make a full assessment of the damage and the casualties, and to begin an investigation," she added.

The US consulate in Turkey has advised Americans against visiting its missions until further notice.

Medics treat a woman who was injured in the blast

Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the bombing, and UK businesses in Turkey have been urged to be vigilant.

The British consulate in Istanbul said in a statement: "There has been a suspected terrorist attack on the US embassy in Ankara.

"Due to the nature of this incident we advise you to be extra vigilant and to take appropriate security measures to safeguard your staff and assets."

TV footage showed a door blown out and masonry from the wall around it scattered, although there did not appear to be any more significant structural damage.

An Associated Press journalist reported seeing a body in the street in front of the entrance.

And a Reuters witness reported seeing one wounded person being lifted into an ambulance.

Police cordoned off the area following the explosion, which sent smoke and debris flying into the street.

Another journalist Ilnur Cevik told Sky News: "There was a huge bang which really shook everywhere."

Far-left groups in Turkey oppose what they see as US influence over Turkish foreign policy.

Turkey is a key US ally in the Middle East with common interests ranging from energy security to counter-terrorism.

And Ankara has been one of the leading supporters of foreign intervention to end the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

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South Africa Train Crash Injures 300

At least 300 people have been injured in a collision between two passenger trains in South Africa during the peak morning commute.

Dozens of school children were among those injured in the crash, which left the driver of one of the engines needing to be rescued from his cab.

The accident happened just before 8am when a train collided with a stationary locomotive near Attridgeville, a suburb west of Pretoria.

"Many are walking wounded and already left. There are 20 people in serious condition and one, the driver of the second train, is in a critical condition," local emergency services spokesman Johan Pieterse said.

|The train collided with a stationary locomotive

"Both of the trains were full of commuters and between them were lots of school children on the way to school. We counted about 50 plus children," he added.

At least three people were said to be in a "critical" condition according to Chris Botha, a spokesman for emergency services provider Netcare.

At least one person was airlifted to the nearby Milpark Hospital, others were taken by ambulance and many were treated at the scene.

The accident happened west of Pretoria

Rescue workers struggled to cut away the tangled wreckage of the trains to free the passengers. One of the train drivers was freed from the carriage where he was trapped for two hours. He was among those critically injured.

The trains were on the same line toward the capital Pretoria when one train hit the other from behind.

The cause of the accident is unknown.

The trains were operated by Metrorail, the country's rail system in cities.

It is just the latest serious rail accident to hit South Africa's urban rail network.

In 2011, 857 commuters were injured in Johannesburg's Soweto township when a passenger train smashed into a stationary train during the peak rush hour period.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South, has itself described its passengers as "travelling like cattle." 

Over 90 percent of commuter trains in South Africa date back to more than fifty years, the most recent dating from 1986.

The network is currently undergoing a major revamp to upgrade its fleet, spending 123 billion rand ($14 billion, 10 billion euros) over 20 years.

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Ryanair Loses EU Fight Over Ash Cloud Row

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

A court has ruled Ryanair flouted EU law by refusing to pay out cash to a customer left stranded by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud three years ago.

Denise McDonagh, from Ireland, was due to fly back to Dublin from Faro on April 17, 2010, but was trapped in Portugal for a week after the eruption closed down much of European airspace for nine days.

She ran up hotel, meal and refreshment bills of 1,130 euro (£940), and submitted them to the airline when she returned to Ireland.

But the company refused to reimburse her, claiming that the consequences of the eruption were so unexpected they could not count as 'extraordinary circumstances'.

Ms McDonagh pursued her claim through the Irish courts, which then sent the case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which is the highest court in the EU for interpreting and enforcing EU laws.

Last March Advocate General Yves Bot ruled in the plaintiff's favour, which has now been upheld by the court.

And its judges have ordered Ryanair to cover the costs she incurred.

Their decision could also have an impact on prices in the budget airline market.

Ash cloud sprews from the Icelandic volcano in 2010

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary told Sky News: "Today's decision is a very bad one for the price of air travel in Europe.

"The next time there's an ash cloud or the skies are closed by Europe's governments, the insurance companies will walk away and wash their hands because it is an act of god.

"The airlines will become the insurers of last resort so somebody whose has paid us to go to the Canaries who maybe is stuck there for two weeks, two months, six months will now sue the airlines.

"And you'll have airlines going out of business and the ones who stay in business will be putting up their air fares to recover these crazy claims."

The court ruling said: "EU law does not recognise a separate category of 'particularly extraordinary' events, beyond 'extraordinary circumstances', which would lead to the air carrier being exempted from all its obligations under the regulation."

The court also ruled that the regulation did not set a monetary limit on the care airlines based in the EU should give to passengers in such cases.

The ruling continued: "It is precisely in situations where the waiting period occasioned by the cancellation of a flight is particularly lengthy that it is necessary to ensure that an air passenger can have access to essential goods and services throughout that period."

However, the court did give some relief to the airlines, by stating that they "may pass on the costs incurred as a result of that obligation to airline ticket prices".

After the judgment Ryanair released a statement and said: "Ryanair regrets the decision of the European Court which now allows passengers to claim for flight delays which are clearly and unambiguously outside of an airline's control.

"Today's decision will materially increase the cost of flying across Europe and consumer airfares will increase as airlines will be obliged to recover the cost of these claims from their customers, because the defective European regulation does not allow us to recover such costs from the governments or unions who are responsible for over 95% of flight delays in Europe."

:: More than 100,000 flights were cancelled and eight million passengers stranded after the Icelandic volcano erupted, spewing a massive cloud of ash that caused the world's biggest airspace shutdown since the Second World War.

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Syria And Iran May Hit Back Over Israeli Raid

Syria and Iran have threatened to retaliate for an Israeli air raid near the capital Damascus.

Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali says Damascus has "the option and the surprise to retaliate." He said he cannot predict when the retaliation will be, saying it is up to relevant authorities to prepare for it.

In Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday as saying the raid on Syria will have significant implications for the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

US officials said Israel launched a rare air strike inside Syria on Wednesday, targeting a convoy believed to contain anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hizbollah.

The Syrian military denied the existence of any such shipment and said Israel targeted a scientific research facility outside Damascus.

Russia had earlier said it was 'deeply concerned' over reports that Israeli jets attacked a scientific research centre inside Syria. The country held back from condemning the action as yet, but said it would do so if the report was true. 

Syria announced on Wednesday that an Israeli air strike attacked the research centre after reports had emerged out of Israel earlier claiming a convoy had been attacked on the Syria-Lebanon border.

Syrian officials claimed Israeli jets had entered their airspace at low altitude, under the radar, and hit the facility in Jamraya, near Damascus, killing two site workers.

State television quoted the military as saying: "They ... carried out an act of aggression, bombarding the site, causing large-scale material damage and destroying the building."

Earlier reports had claimed that Israeli jets had hit a convoy allegedly carrying weapons to Lebanon's Hizbollah movement. According to Sky sources, the attack took place just inside Syria.

Sky's Middle East correspondent Sam Kiley said on Wednesday: "We know from Sky sources that the Israelis have conducted an air strike involving three sorties by 12 planes - a very heavy air strike, a high level of intent - on the village of Nabi Chit, near the bigger Syrian town of Zabadani.

He said it was possible that the Israelis had been targeting a suspected shipment of ship-to-shore and anti-aircraft missiles.

Israeli officials were concerned that if the anti-aircraft missiles fell into the hands of Lebanese militant group Hizbollah, Israel could lose the air superiority it had enjoyed until now.

It was not immediately clear whether both the Sky sources and the Syrian media were referring to the same air strike, but the Syrian army denied that an Israeli air strike had targeted a weapons convoy on the border.

There was no official comment from Israel on the statements from Iran, Syria or Russia.

Tzahi HaNegbi, an MP close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commented generally, saying: "The best thing that Israel has been hoping for for a long time is that the West will take control of these weapons.

"But the world is not ready to take such a decision as it did in Libya or Iraq, so Israel finds itself facing a dilemma which we alone can resolve."

Iran had previously warned that any attack on Syria would be seen as an attack on Iran.

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Child Held Hostage After School Bus Shooting

A gunman who shot and killed a school bus driver before taking a five-year-old boy hostage on Tuesday remains holed up in a bunker at his home in Alabama.

Armed officers and police negotiators have surrounded the property in Midland City.

The suspect has been named locally as 65-year-old lorry driver Jimmy Lee Dykes.

Local people described him as a survivalist, who hates the government and the authorities.

He had been scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday morning to answer charges he shot at his neighbours last month in a dispute over a speed bump.

The stand-off entered a third day on Thursday

The stand-off began on Tuesday afternoon when a gunman boarded a stationary school bus filled with children.

Sheriff Wally Olson said the man shot the bus driver when he refused to hand over the boy. The gunman then took the child away.

"As far as we know there is no relation at all. He just wanted a child for a hostage situation," said Michael Senn, a pastor who helped comfort the other children after the attack.

Bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr, 66, has been described by locals as a hero who gave his life to protect 21 students.

Mr Olson said negotiators are continuing to talk to the suspect and "at this time we have no reason to believe that the child has been harmed".

The school bus was dropping children off at home

Mike and Patricia Smith's two children were also on the bus.

The mother told how their son ran inside his house shouting: "The crazy man across the street shot the bus driver and Mr Poland won't wake up."

The couple said their youngsters had a run-in with the neighbour about 10 months ago.

"My bulldogs got loose and went over there," Patricia Smith said.

"The children went to get them. He threatened to shoot them if they came back."

"He's very paranoid," her husband said. "He goes around in his yard at night with a flashlight and shotgun."

A sheriff's deputy mans a roadblock near the property

Nearby homes were evacuated after authorities found what was believed to be a bomb at the property.

State Representative Steve Clouse described the standoff as a "static situation" and "a waiting game".

Authorities told him that the bunker on the suspect's property has electricity, food and a TV.

Police have not said whether the suspect has made any demands.

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David Beckham 'To Sign For Paris St Germain'

David Beckham's Career Timeline

Updated: 12:20pm UK, Thursday 31 January 2013

David Beckham was born in Leytonstone in east London on May 2, 1975. Sixteen years later he joined Manchester United as a trainee.

1992: Makes debut against Brighton in the League Cup on September 23. Wins FA Youth Cup.

1993: Signs professional contract at Old Trafford.

1996: Helps United to Premier League and FA Cup double.

Scores goal of the season on opening day at Wimbledon, lobbing Neil Sullivan from the halfway line.
Makes his England debut in the 3-0 win in Moldova.

1997: Collects another championship winners' medal, voted PFA Young Player of the Year.

1998: Scores first England goal, a free-kick against Colombia in Lens on June26. Sent off in second-round penalty shoot-out defeat against Argentina.

1999: Helps United win the Premier League, FA Cup and European Cup after comingfrom behind to beat Bayern Munich with two late goals.Runner-up in World Player of the Year awards, behind Rivaldo.

2000: May - Collects fourth championship winner's medal as United win title by a record 18 points.

November - Named England captain for the November friendly with Italy in Turin by stand-in boss Peter Taylor.

2001: May - Collects another Premier League title with United.

October - Curls in a 25-yard last-minute free-kick against Greece at Old Trafford to earn England a 2-2 draw and send them into World Cup finals.

2002: May 11 - Signs new three-year contract reported to be worth between £90,000 and £100,000 a week.

2003: February - Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson accidentally kicks a boot into Beckham's face in frustration at United's FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.

June 14 - Awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to football.

June 17 - United announce they have accepted a £25m bid from Real Madrid for Beckham, who agrees personal terms.

2004: June 24 - Misses a penalty as England lose to Portugal in a shoot-out in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals in Lisbon.

2005: November: Captains England for 50th time in friendly against Argentina in Geneva.

July 2 - Stands down as England captain.

August 11 - Dropped from squad for friendly against Greece, Steve McClaren's first match as manager.

2007: January 11 - Beckham announces he will leave Real Madrid and join Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy on a five-year contract in August.

January 13 - Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello says Beckham will never play for the club again.

May 26 - McClaren hands Beckham a shock England recall for matches against Brazil and Estonia.

June - Wins the La Liga title with Madrid, having won back his place in the team.

August 16 - Beckham scores his first goal for Galaxy on his full debut in the SuperLiga semi-final meeting with DC United with a trademark free-kick.

2008: March 26 - Wins 100th cap in the friendly against France.

October 30 - Milan announce Beckham will join them on loan on January 7, 2009.

2009: January 11 - Makes shock first start for Milan in 2-2 Serie A draw at Roma.

March 9 - AC Milan announce that under a unique "timeshare" agreement, Beckham will stay with them in Italy until the end of the season, return to the Galaxy from July to October and then rejoin the Serie A club for the rest of the 2009-10 campaign.

March 28 - Comes on as a half-time substitute against Slovakia at Wembley towin his 109th cap and break Bobby Moore's record for an outfield player.

July 20, 27 - Twice confronts fans who gave him a hostile reception in his first home games after returning to the Galaxy.

2010: March 14 - Tears his Achilles tendon in AC Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo - an injury that rules him out of the World Cup.

August 11 - England career appears to be at an end when Capello tells ITV: "Probably he is a little bit old."

2011: November 20  - Wins the MLS Cup as the Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo 1-0 in the final.

December 31 - Five-year deal at the Galaxy expires.

2012: January 19 - Re-signs with the Galaxy.

June 28 - Announces he has not been included in Team GB's squad for the Olympic Games.

November 20 - Confirms he is to leave the Galaxy after MLS Cup on December 1.

December 1 - LA Galaxy wins 3-1 over Houston Dynamo in Beckham's final game in Major League Soccer. It is the team's second successive MLS Cup.

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Toyota Recall Over Airbag And Wiper Faults

Toyota has launched a global recall of more than one million cars, including those fitted with airbags that can be triggered inadvertently by electrical interference from other vehicles.

It said a computer chip in the airbag control unit can malfunction when it receives electrical impulse from other cars.

The fault means there does not need to be any impact for the airbags to deploy.

The problem has caused minor injuries such as abrasions in 18 cases that have been reported, Toyota spokesman Naoto Fuse said.

Two accidents have been reported by customers outside Japan, although Toyota has not been able to confirm them, he added.

The airbag recall affects 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles in the United States.

Toyota UK has confirmed to Sky News that the fault only affects left-hand drive, non-European vehicles.

Toyota said it will add an electrical signal filter to the airbag control module to the recalled vehicles - repairs expected to take an hour to hour-and-a-half, according to Mr Fuse.

The spokesman declined to disclose the costs involved for the recall.

The news comes just days after Toyota was crowned the world's top-selling carmaker.

Separately, Toyota will also recall 385,000 Lexus IS and its series, including 270,000 Lexus IS vehicles in the US, over windscreen wiper problems.

The wiper arm nut of the front wiper in the affected vehicles may not be tight enough and the wiper may not work under certain weather occasions, including in snow.

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South Korea's First Satellite Blasts Off

South Korea has launched a satellite into space from its own soil for the first time - just weeks after arch-rival North Korea accomplished a similar feat.

The rocket blasted off from a launch pad in the southwestern coastal village of Goheung.

Officials told cheering spectators minutes later that the rocket delivered an observational satellite into orbit.

It is unclear whether the satellite is operating as intended.

The launch is a culmination of years of efforts by South Korea - Asia's fourth-largest economy - to advance its space programme and cement its standing as a technology leader.

Crowds gather in a railway station in Seoul to watch the launch

North Korea's long-range rocket program has generated international fears that it is getting closer to developing nuclear missiles capable of striking enemies.

It has threatened to explode its third nuclear device, after tough new international sanctions were imposed over its December 12 rocket launch.

The rocket left from Goheung Space Centre

Washington and Seoul said North Korea's launch was a cover for a test of Pyongyang's banned ballistic missile technology.

South Korea tried and failed to launch satellites in 2009 and 2010, and more recent launch attempts were aborted at the last minute.

The satellite launched by Seoul is designed to analyse weather data, measure radiation in space, gauge distances on earth and test how effectively South Korean-made devices installed on the satellite operate in space.

South Korean officials say it will help them develop more sophisticated satellites in the future.

US experts say the North's satellite is tumbling through space and that it does not appear to be functioning, though Pyongyang has said it is working.

The South Korean rocket launched on Wednesday was partially designed and built by Russian experts under a contract between the two governments.

North Korea built its rocket almost entirely on its own.

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Syria Is Being Destroyed, Says UN Envoy

The war in Syria has reached "unprecedented levels of horror" after evidence emerged of the massacre of dozens of men, the UN envoy for the country has said.

Lakhdar Brahimi told the divided UN Security Council it must act now to prevent further atrocities like the apparent execution of at least 65 men found dumped in a river in Aleppo.

Syrian rebels blamed president Bashar al Assad's government for the killings, but state media said an Islamist opposition faction was to blame.

"Syria is breaking up before everyone's eyes. Only the international community can help, and first and foremost the Security Council," Mr Brahimi told the council's 15 ambassadors.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for more aid and an end to the violence. He said the situation was "catastrophic and getting worse. Every day, Syrians face unrelenting horrors".

More than 60,000 people have been killed in 22 months of conflict, according to the UN, which will seek £950m in humanitarian funding for beleaguered Syrians at a conference in Kuwait.

Fighting has devastated Aleppo since summer 2012

Mr Brahimi said Mr Assad's government's legitimacy has been "irreparably damaged" but warned that it could still cling to power as both state and rebel forces commit "equally atrocious crimes".

After briefing the Security Council, Mr Brahimi told reporters: "Syria is being destroyed bit by bit.

"And in destroying Syria, the region is being pushed into a situation that is extremely bad and extremely important for the entire world."

He warned of growing conflict "contamination" in neighbouring countries.

The Council has been paralysed on Syria for more than a year. Russia and China have vetoed three western-drafted resolutions which would simply have threatened sanctions.

Russia accuses the West of seeking regime change through force and insists it cannot make Mr Assad stand down. The US and its allies back the opposition stance that there can be no talks with the president.

Aleppo - Syria's most populous city - is far from Assad's Damascus base

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights opposition group said the Aleppo victims were found with their hands bound and a single bullet wound to the head - and that the death toll could climb to 80.

Hundreds of distressed people watched as muddied corpses were dredged from the Quweiq river.

"The regime threw them into the river so that they would arrive in an area under our control, so the people would think we killed them," rebel fighter Abu Seif said.

A government security official blamed "terrorists" - the regime term for the rebels - for the carnage.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the official SANA news agency said the jihadist Al Nusra Front carried out the executions.

Al Nusra, which has gained notoriety for its suicide bombings, has become a key fighting force, leading rebel attacks throughout the embattled country.

Its suspected affiliation to the al Qaeda offshoot in Iraq have seen it added to the US list of terrorist organisations.

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Israel Strikes Convoy On Syria-Lebanon Border

Israel has struck a suspected weapons convoy on the border of Syria and Lebanon, according to multiple sources.

Israeli jets carried out the strike overnight on the convoy which was said to be on its way into Syria, in the area of the Lebanon-Syria border.

Three squadrons of four jets carried out three separate sorties against the convoy, hitting it near the Lebanese village of Nabi Chit, about half way up the border with Syria in central Lebanon.

Early reports said the strike happened inside Lebanon, but Sky sources said the attack took place just inside Syria.

Sky News Middle East Correspondent Sam Kiley said: "We know from Sky sources that the Israelis have conducted an air strike involving three sorties by 12 planes - a very heavy airstrike, a high level of intent - on the village of Nabi Chit, near the bigger Syrian town of  Zabadani. It's inside Syrian territory, therefore representing a possible strategic escalation.

"I'm told by security sources that were not directly involved that the most likely target were either shore to ship missles - very sophisticated missiles of the kind used by Hizbollah against an Israeli ship a few years ago off the coast of Lebanon - or sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles, both of which the Damascus regime have access to from Russia.

"They are recently understood to have taken substantial imports of these from Russia.

"Why are they such a worry to the Israelis? If Hizbollah were to get access to such anti shipping missiles and particularly to very sophisticated anti aircraft missiles, it would prevent the Israelis carrying out just the sort of airstrike that they've just done - it would shift the balance towards Hizbollah.

"Israel has always enjoyed air superiority in the region and it would lose it if these missiles were able to find the way into Hizbollah's hands.

"There is less of a suggestion that it was targeting chemical weapons."

Israel has in the last few months boosted isecurity and put a lot of tanks on its northern border with Syria, around the disputed Golan Heights. It has also installed its Iron Dome anti-missile missile system which has been used successfully to stop rockets coming out of Gaza.

An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.

Hizbollah also failed to comment.

In the run-up to the raid, Israeli officials had been warning very publicly of the threat posed to their country should high-tech anti-aircraft or anti-tank missiles reach Israel's enemies.

Lebanese militant group Hizbollah is a known enemy of Israel and has connections with Syria.

Israel fears sophisticated weaponery stockpiled by Bashar al-Assad's regime could fall into the hands of Hizbollah and could then be used to launch an attack against its citizens.

It was originally thought that Israel had waited until the convoy had crossed the border into Lebanon. A strike just inside Lebanon would had caused fewer diplomatic problems for Israel as it would avoid provoking Syria's ally Iran.

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US Economy Shrinks For First Time In Three Years

The US economy shrank in the last quarter of 2012, the first contraction in more than three years.

The Commerce Department said that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1% in the fourth quarter.

It was a sharp slowdown from the 3.1% growth rate recorded during the July-September quarter.

The deepest cuts in defence spending for 40 years, fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles have been blamed on the reduced figure.

The surprise contraction could raise fears about the economy's ability to handle tax increases that took effect in January and more looming spending cuts.

"It represents a sharp turnaround from the 3.1% expansion seen in the third quarter and confounding economists, who had on average expected to see 1.1% growth," Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said.

"The contraction was the first since the second quarter of 2009."

Food prices have come under pressure in the US due to grain price rises

Some believe the weakness may be because of one-time factors as government spending cuts and slower inventory growth subtracted a total of 2.6 percentage points from growth.

And those volatile categories offset faster growth in consumer spending, business investment and housing - the US economy's traditional core drivers of growth.

For all of 2012, the economy expanded at the rate of 2.2%, better than 2011's growth of 1.8%.

However the economy may continue to stay weak in early 2013 as Americans come to grips with an increase in social security taxes that has left them with less take-home pay.

Subpar growth has held back hiring as the economy has created about 150,000 jobs a month, on average, for the past two years.

That job rate increase is barely enough to reduce the unemployment rate, which has remained at 7.8% for the past two months.

Economists have forecast that the unemployment figure will stay at the still-high rate again this month, when the government releases the January jobs report on Friday.

"The details of the decline suggest that the underlying performance of the US economy is far better than the headline number suggests," Mr Williamson added.

The Pentagon's military planners have had to slice billions from projects

"In particular, companies sought to cut inventories which had built up in previous months, and if the stock reduction is excluded, the economy grew at a 1.1% annualised rate.

"After a disappointing end to 2012, the first quarter of 2013 may well surprise on the upside as the economy rebounds from a temporary spell of weakness."

Companies frequently cut back on inventories if they anticipate a slowdown in sales - with slower inventory growth meaning factories would likely produced less.

US economists are now waiting to see the reaction of consumers to the expiration of the social security tax cut.

Congress and the White House allowed the temporary tax cut to expire in January, but reached a deal to keep income taxes from rising on most Americans.

The tax increase will lower take-home pay this year by about 2%, with a household earning $50,000 a year will have about $1,000 less to spend and a household with two high-paid workers will have up to $4,500 less.

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Egypt Crisis 'Could Lead To State's Collapse'

The political crisis in Egypt could lead to the state's collapse, the head of the country's armed forces has warned.

 Failure to resolve the situation "could lead to grave repercussions if the political forces do not act" to tackle it, General al Sisi said on the official army Facebook page, as he promised to protect the country's vital infrastructure, particularly the Suez Canal.

"The continuing conflict between political forces and their differences concerning the management of the country could lead to a collapse of the state and threaten future generations," he said in extracts of a speech to students at a military academy.

The general also warned that the political, economic, social and security problems facing Egypt constituted "a threat to the country's security and stability".

General al Sisi with President Morsi in Cairo last year

"The attempts to undermine the stability of state institutions is a dangerous thing that harms national security and the future of the country," he said, adding: "The army will remain strong... as a pillar of the state's foundations."

Fifty-two people have died in five days of violence that started on Thursday night, as the country marked the second anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

A curfew has been imposed in three provinces - Port Said, Ismailiya and Suez.

The bloodiest clashes and most of the deaths have occurred in Port Said, Rioting broke out on Saturday after 21 supporters of a local football club were sentenced to death for their roles in a deadly football riot last year.

Egypt has already deployed troops to Port Said and Suez provinces, which lie at each end of the vital Suez Canal.

"The deployment of the army in Port Said and Suez aims to protect strategic infrastructure, especially the Suez Canal, which we will not allow to be harmed," General al Sisi said, adding that the army was to assist interior ministry forces.

But, he said, the army's task was difficult. One the one hand it "did not want to confront Egyptian citizens who have a right to protest" but, on the other, it "has to protect vital institutions."

"That is why protests must be peaceful."

Analysts say it is unlikely that the army wants to take back the power it held, in effect, for six decades since the end of the colonial period and in the interim period after the overthrow of former general Hosni Mubarak two years ago.

But, they say, it sends a powerful message that Egypt's biggest institution, with a huge economic as well as security role and a recipient of enormous US subsidies, is worried about the fate of the nation after five days of turmoil in major cities.

 

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ArcelorMittal Steelworkers Protest In Belgium

ArcelorMittal workers in Belgium have clashed with police during a protest at plans to close steel plants in the province of Liege.

Six officers were injured in the demonstration of around 2,000 steel workers, who gathered outside regional government offices in Namur.

The demonstrators threw stones and other small items at police, who fired tear gas and a water cannon in return.

Police said two officers were sent to hospital and four others sustained minor injuries.

The protesters are calling for the regional government to intervene and halt plans to close a coke plant and six production lines in the country, resulting in 1,300 job losses.

The leading steel and mining company blamed collapsing demand for steel and overcapacity in the sector for the planned closures in the area, which has a 200-year old steel industry.

Bernard Dehut, the chief executive of ArcelorMittal Liege, said the economic conditions made it "increasingly apparent that further action is required" to stem the company's losses.

The company said it would continue to operate five steel production lines which employ 800 people

The protest followed earlier demonstrations against the planned closures in Brussels.

Meanwhile in neighbouring France, Renault employees demonstrated against the company's new labour deal on the access road to the firm's factory in Flins, near Paris.

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Mali Conflict: British Troops To Train Forces

Up to 200 British military personnel could be deployed to West Africa to help train a regional intervention force for Mali, the Government has said, in a further deepening of the UK's involvement in the conflict to drive out Islamist militants.

Downing Street said the troops would be in addition to up to 40 personnel that Britain is offering to contribute to a European Union training mission to build up the Malian army.

In addition, the UK has offered to supply a roll-on, roll-off ferry to help transport heavy equipment to the French intervention force currently spearheading the fight against militants.

It will also allow allies such as the United States to fly air-to-air refuelling missions from British airbases in support of the French operation.

However an offer to establish a joint Anglo-French logistics headquarters in Mali to organise supplies to the French force has not been taken up by Paris.

With around 90 UK personnel already committed in the region with the RAF Sentinel surveillance aircraft and two C-17 transport aircraft already operating in support of the French mission, it could take the numbers involved to more than 300.

A spokesman for David Cameron said the Prime Minister remained adamant that British troops would not be involved in combat operations against the militants.

Mali shares its border with seven countries

Answering an urgent question from Labour in the Commons, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed the deployment numbers and said the 200 British troops would assist Anglophone West Africa countries.

He said the role of UK soldiers "is clearly not a combat role and will not extend to a force protection role".

When pressed by the opposition party about exit strategies, Mr Hammond said he shared plans outlined by France that it should be a "short intervention to stabilise the situation on the ground". 

The Defence Secretary added that Britain was "very clear" about the risks involved and the Government had "defined very clearly the support we are willing and able to provide to the French and Malian authorities".

The mission to train a West African force known as Afisma - which has been under consideration since late last year - was being discussed at a donor conference for Mali being organised by the African Union in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

British personnel will be involved in training troops from countries, such as Nigeria, which is expected to be one of the largest contributors to Afisma which is slated to take over from the French once their mission is over.

Speaking from the historic city of Timbuktu, which was taken by the French forces on Monday, Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford said British soldiers would help "bolster" the Malian forces, which she described as "very depleted".

Local troops had been unable to fight off militants entering Timbuktu last year and simply put down their weapons and fled - leaving the already armed radical jihadists with further weaponry.

Crawford added: "Malians themselves as an army have a reputation for being ill-disciplined, badly motivated and are accused in some towns of carrying out human rights abuses, so there's clearly a lot of training to be done there."

Looting and violence broke out in Timbuktu on Tuesday. Homes and businesses of suspected jihadist supporters were broken into as local residents vented their anger at the regime which had controlled the city until French troops moved in.

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy told Sky News that Labour supported the Government's decision to send troops to Mali for training purposes.

But Mr Murphy cautioned that the public were "wary" about military commitments after the UK's involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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French Jogger Murder: British Man Is Arrested

A British man has been arrested in France over the murder of a mother who was killed while out jogging.

The woman's body was discovered on a track in Nimes last week.

The man, who has not yet been named, is being questioned by police.

According to reports, he is 32 and originally from Chatham in Kent.

He is understood to have been living in the region, in southwest France, with his mother.

The woman's body was discovered in Nimes

The dead woman - understood to be a 33-year-old mother-of-three - was reportedly found lying near a cemetery, a few hundred metres from the local police academy, last Thursday afternoon.

Traces of blood were found on two stones, and a blade was discovered close to her body, according to regional newspaper La Depeche.

She appeared to have been badly beaten, with blows to the face and neck.

A post-mortem examination revealed she also suffered knife wounds in the attack.

Nimes prosecutor Laure Beccuau told the paper: "A knife was seized, among other things."

A local police spokesman said: "A British man has been arrested. The matter is now being handled by police in Montpellier."

The dead woman was reported missing by her partner after he was contacted by the children's school when she failed to pick them up at the end of the day, La Depeche reported.

The housewife, of Tunisian origin, was said to go jogging regularly in the quiet Courbessac area where she lived.

She would go out for around 20 minutes before collecting her children.

Police mounted a search following her disappearance on Thursday and her body was found shortly after 10pm.

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Syrian Group: 65 People Shot Dead In Aleppo

A Syrian opposition group says 65 people have been found shot dead, with their hands bound, in Aleppo.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll could rise as high as 80, calling the killings a "new massacre".

Photos posted online by opposition activists showed the muddied bodies of several men lying by a small river near the western outskirts of the city in northern Syria.

Close-up shots of some of the corpses showed they had what appeared to be gunshot wounds to the head.

Most have their hands tied behind their backs.

It was not clear who carried out the killings.

Restrictions on independent media in Syria make it difficult to verify reports from activists.

The fighting, which began almost two years ago, has claimed at least 60,000 lives.

More than 700,000 people have fled the violence, according to the United Nations.

Human rights groups have accused both government forces and the rebels of carrying out summary executions.

Aleppo, the country's most populous city, has seen fierce fighting since the summer. The rival forces are stuck in a stalemate, with the city divided roughly in half between the two.

Fighting in Aleppo has left the city divided between the two sides

Both sides blamed the other for the killings.

An officer with the Free Syrian Army, the rebel force, told the AFP news agency that at least 68 bodies, including some of teenagers, had been recovered and that many more were still being dragged from the water.

He said all had been "executed by the regime".

A senior government security source told AFP that many of the victims had been reported kidnapped earlier.

The source accused "terrorists" - the term usually used by the government to refer to the rebels - of carrying out the executions and spreading propaganda to deflect responsibility.

In the video, a cameraman is walking along a river filming over 50 bodies lying on a concrete path, blood seeping from their heads.

Some of the men were dressed in jeans, shirts and sneakers.

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Missing Mexican Band: Bodies Found In Well

At least eight bodies have been pulled from a well near the site where members of a Mexican band went missing after a performance.

A total of 20 people disappeared on Friday following Colombian-style group Kombo Kolombia's show in Monterrey the previous night, including 16 musicians and crew.

An official from the Nuevo Leon State Investigative Agency said the number of bodies found at a vacant car park in the nearby town of Mina could increase.

But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the case, could not confirm whether the bodies were those of the band and their crew.

Hidalgo and Mina are near northern Mexican city Monterrey

People living near the bar in Hidalgo municipality north of Monterrey - where the band had played a private show - reported hearing gunshots at around 4am on Friday, followed by the sound of vehicles speeding away,

The official added that gunfire is common in the area, and that investigators found spent bullets nearby.

Relatives filed an official report about their missing loved ones on Friday, after they lost mobile telephone contact with them following the Thursday night performance.

When family members went to the bar to investigate, they found the band members' vehicles still parked outside.

For three years, Kombo Kolombia has played a Colombian style of music known as vallenato, which is popular in Nuevo Leon state.

Most of the group's musicians were from the area, and have held large concerts in addition to bar performances.

State officials said one of those missing is a Colombian citizen with Mexican residency.

Members of other musical bands, usually groups that performed 'narcocorridos' celebrating the exploits of drug traffickers, have been killed in Mexico in recent years.

But Kombo Kolombia did not play that type of music and its lyrics did not deal with violence or drug trafficking.

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Australia Floods Threaten To Wash Homes Away

By Katie Cassidy, in Brisbane

Hundreds of homes are at risk of being washed away by fast-flowing floodwaters in the Australian state of Queensland.

Mass evacuations have been carried out in the city of Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, where waters in the Burnett River continued to rise above the record level of nine metres.

Up to 2,000 properties have been flooded and the state's premier, Campbell Newman, told reporters the emergency was widespread.

"These are record floods and we are in unchartered territory," he said.

"The water is flowing extremely fast. Some estimates have put it at 40 knots, which makes the rescue of people extremely hazardous or downright impossible, particularly with debris in the river system.

"We are also very concerned that the velocity of the river and the rise in water levels means that literally, houses, particularly in north Bundaberg, could be swept away. This is a very real prospect."

Wild weather conditions generated by the former cyclone Oswald have pounded Queensland's southeast over the past several days, leaving at least three dead and thousands of homes either damaged or destroyed.

A number of people have already needed rescuing from floodwaters, including a 14-year-old boy who was pulled from a swollen river in a heart-stopping operation caught on camera.

A surge of ocean foam appears in Snapper Rocks, Queensland

Strong winds, and in some areas small-scale tornadoes, brought down power lines, ripped roofs off homes and uprooted trees.

On Monday, more than 220,000 properties in southeast Queensland were without electricity and residents in several towns were urged to leave their homes as rivers in the region broke their banks.

While the most serious situation on Monday was in Bundaberg, the state capital Brisbane has been told to expect flooding this week.

Parts of the country's third largest city are due to be inundated for a second time in two years - in January 2011 more than 15,000 properties were affected by Brisbane's worst flooding in more than a century.

By Tuesday, around 3,500 homes and 1,500 business have been told to expect flooding as high tides are swollen by the high levels of rainfall in the region.

The city of Ipswich, west of Brisbane, which also experienced widespread devastation in January 2011, is also due to flood again as the Bremer River peaked at 15 metres.

On Monday, the Brisbane River had already broken its banks in parts of the city centre, flooding parks and bike paths.

The expected peak of 2.6 metres is almost two metres lower than in 2011, and the authorities have been keen to stress the crisis in the city of 1.2 million people is not as severe.

But after dozens of suburbs were inundated only two years ago, emotions in Brisbane and Ipswich are still raw.

Earlier this month a law firm announced it was putting together a class action on behalf of flood victims who accuse authorities of mismanaging the release of water from Wivenhoe Dam.

The dam was built after the devastating 1974 flooding of Brisbane, which left vast areas of the city under water.

Two years ago authorities had no choice but to release an extraordinary amount of water from the dam to save the structure from giving way.

But Mr Newman, who was mayor of Brisbane in January 2011, said the circumstances of this year's flooding event are different.

"Running a dam is quite a complex operation. The best way I can explain to people, the operation of a dam like a shock-absorber in your car. It's designed to take the impacts. Take the bumps out of the road," he said.

"What the people running the dam are doing is everything they can to take the shock out of the system and to ensure we have the lowest possible water levels in the Brisbane River.

"But there is flooding in the Lockyer (Valley), there's flooding in the Bremer River, and those watercourses go in to the Brisbane River downstream from Wivenhoe Dam. They cannot be controlled.

"Those flows cannot be controlled by anybody."

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Egypt Protests: New Powers For Army Approved

State Of Emergency In Egypt

Updated: 11:44am UK, Monday 28 January 2013

In declaring a state of emergency in three Egyptian cities, President Mohamed Morsi has underlined the gravity of the situation facing his country.

He has also gambled by using laws dating back to his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Morsi said he might take further steps "for the sake of Egypt" but the state of emergency already allows sweeping powers for the police, Ministry of Interior and the president himself.

A curfew will be enacted for a month from 9pm to 6am in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez and their surrounding regions. All three sit along the strategically important Suez Canal waterway.

Normal judicial process can be ignored, and people arrested on the flimsiest of pretexts.

Mr Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood (MB) party came to power last June on the back of the ousting of President Mubarak.

He engineered the new constitution to ensure the presidency retained overwhelming legal powers, and then fast tracked it into law with a rushed referendum in December.

For him to now use emergency laws retained in the constitution has infuriated his opponents and will fuel the accusation that he is "Mubarak with a beard".

However, given the importance of the Suez Canal, widespread violence elsewhere, including in Cairo, the president says he had no choice.

Reacting to accusations that he ignores all voices save those of the army and the MB, he has invited opposition leaders to discuss how to end the violence.

But many opposition figures say they will not co-operate with a man they claim is becoming a dictator.

In return MB supporters say the opposition is trying to overthrow Egypt's first democratically elected leader.

The violence was partially sparked by the second anniversary of the overthrow of Mubarak, and partially by the end of a trial of football fans from Port Said accused of murdering 74 rivals from the Cairo club al Ahly last February.

When 21 men were sentenced to death on Saturday, rioting broke out almost immediately with dozens of people killed in clashes with the police.

The coming together of the two events has only underlined how unstable Egypt is, and the declaration of a state of emergency is unlikely to do anything to solve the underlying problems besetting this country of 84 million people.

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Brazil Fire: Nightclub Owner Is Arrested

Brazilian police have arrested the co-owner of a nightclub where 233 people were killed in a fire, according to the AFP news agency.

Police also apprehended two members of a band that was performing at the club, the report said.

Witnesses said a flare or firework lit by members of the band onstage had started the fire, which broke out early on Sunday morning.

The fast-spreading blaze raged through the crowded Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, with a cloud of toxic smoke setting off panic as party-goers gasping for air rushed to the exit.

Security guards tried to block people from leaving the club, survivors and rescuers have said.

Brazilian bars routinely make patrons pay their entire tab at the end of the night before they are allowed to leave.

"It was chaotic and it doesn't seem to have been done in bad faith because several security guards also died," police inspector Marcelo Arigony said.

A preliminary investigation also found that the club's exit was blocked by the bodies of those already dead.

Police have said an arrest warrant has been issued for another owner of the club.

The detentions were for investigative purposes, and a police official said they were "temporary", according to AFP.

Many of the 233 victims were under 20-years-old. Around 117 others were injured.

Funerals for some of the victims were being held on Monday in Santa Maria, a university city in the south of the country.

The blaze broke out while the band, called Gurizada Fandangueira, was performing in the club, which was overcrowded with some 1,500 people.

Television images showed black smoke billowing out of the nightclub as shirtless young men who had attended a university party joined firefighters using axes and sledgehammers to pound at windows and pink exterior walls to free those trapped inside.

Bodies of the dead and injured were strewn in the street and panicked screams filled the air as medics tried to help.

Hours later, the bodies of the victims were lined up in a community gym, as desperate family members identified their relatives.

Survivor Michele Pereira told the Folha de S Paulo newspaper she was near the stage when members of the band lit flares that started the fire.

"The band that was onstage began to use flares and, suddenly, they stopped the show and pointed them upward," she said.

"At that point, the ceiling caught fire. It was really weak, but in a matter of seconds it spread."

One member of the band was killed while five made it out safely.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff flew back from a summit in Santiago, Chile, and declared a national three-day mourning period for the victims.

"We are going to make it through this tragedy," Ms Rousseff said.

An event scheduled for Monday to mark 500 days to go until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was scrapped out of respect for the victims.

More follows...

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Mali: Islamists Burn Timbuktu Manuscripts

A library containing rare and ancient documents has been torched by Islamic militants escaping from French forces in Timbuktu.

The Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Islamic Studies and Research had reportedly been used as a sleeping quarters by the Islamists.

Speaking from inside the building, Sky's Alex Crawford, who is embedded with the French forces, said the empty boxes strewn around her had contained thousands of historic manuscripts.

"Some of the documents date back to the 13th century," she said. "The town dates back to the 11th century and this was all the documentation they'd built up over centuries of life in Timbuktu - all either burnt by the Jihadists or they have disappeared."

The city's mayor, Ousmane Halle, said: "They torched all the important ancient manuscripts. The ancient books of geography and science. It is the history of Timbuktu, of its people. It's truly alarming that this has happened."

During their rule, the militants systematically destroyed UNESCO World Heritage sites in Timbuktu, long a hub of Islamic learning.

Crawford said she had been to the site of tombs that date back centuries which had been razed to the ground. UNESCO says one that was destroyed was the tomb of Sidi Mahmoudou, a saint who died in 955.

A spokesman for the al Qaeda-linked militants has said the tombs of Sufi saints were destroyed because they contravened Islam, encouraging Muslims to venerate saints instead of God.

Ground forces backed by French paratroopers and helicopters took control of Timbuktu's airport and the roads leading to the town in an overnight operation - part of the French-led mission to oust radical Islamists from the northern half of Mali, which they seized more than nine months ago.

Crawford said: "In the centre of the town they are celebrating, they're going absolutely bonkers with flags, cheering and waving and saying thank you to the French."

The Timbuktu operation comes a day after the French announced they had seized the airport and a key bridge in Gao, a city east of Timbuktu, one of the other northern provincial capitals that had been under the grip of radical Islamists.

The French and Malian forces so far have met little resistance from the Islamists, who seized northern Mali in the wake of a military coup in the distant capital of Bamako, in southern Mali.

Timbuktu lies on an ancient caravan route and has entranced travellers for centuries, is some 1,000km (620 miles) northeast of Mali's capital Bamako.

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Mali: US Offers Refuelling Services To France

US military aircraft will be used to refuel French warplanes fighting Islamist militants in Mali, the Pentagon has confirmed.

The offer of assistance to the French-led effort to push al Qaeda-linked fighters out of the north of country came as the 16-day offensive enjoyed its biggest success, recapturing the city of Gao.

In an overnight assault backed by French warplanes and helicopters, French special forces seized the town's airport and a key bridge over the River Niger while, killing a number of Islamist fighters without suffering any casualties, the French army said.

"The Malian army and the French control Gao today," Malian army spokesman Lieutenant Diaran Kone said.

Fighting was, however, reported to be continuing in the city, which was seized by a mixture of al Qaeda-linked fighters over nine months ago, into the night.

Sky's special correspondent Alex Crawford, travelling with French troops, said the latest offensive was the biggest push into jihadist-held territory since the operation began.

"There are at least five militant groups waiting for them in and around this desert region.

"Clearly the militants have spotted this huge convoy coming. It is not hard to spot, there are nearly 100 vehicles in the convoy and it takes up more than 1km of space in this pretty barren landscape."

French troops and fighting alongside the Malian army

Malian army officers said the Islamist insurgents were pulling back to avoid French air strikes.

"They are all hiding. They are leaving on foot and on motorcycles," Malian Army Captain Faran Keita said in Konna, about 310 miles southeast of Gao.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed the US would offer its support to the operation "to deny terrorists a safe haven in Mali" after speaking to French Minister of Defence Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said: "Secretary Panetta informed Minister Le Drian that US Africa Command will support the French military by conducting aerial refuelling missions as operations in Mali continue."

They also discussed plans for the US to transport troops from African nations, including Chad and Togo, to support the international effort in Mali, he added.

A total of 7,700 African troops are expected to be sent to Mali under a UN mandate, according to regional army chiefs.

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Kumbh Mela: Millions Gather For Hindu Festival

By Alex Rossi, India Correspondent

The authorities in the city of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh in India have estimated that as many as 80 million people will attend this year's Kumbh Mela religious festival during its six-week lifecycle.

The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years and its exact timing is decided by the zodiac. Smaller melas, which is the Hindi word for fair, are held every three years.

Hindu pilgrims from across the country have been arriving at Allahabad since January 14.

Most stay in a tented city which pops up on the flood plains of the River Ganges at its confluence with the River Yamuna.

In Hindu mythology both rivers are holy and the pilgrims believe bathing in the waters cleanses them of sin by eradicating "Karmic debt".

Most pilgrims stay in a vast tent city on the flood plains

The ritual helps bring the devotee closer to the end of the cycle of reincarnation or "Moksha".

Akhilesh Singh and his wife Munju travelled from the capital city of Delhi to take part;

"Basically my wife wanted to come here to get blessings for our son studying in California. This is a worship to give him a good brain to study out there and we want peace and harmony in our family," he said.

The Kumbh Mela is by far the biggest religious festival in the world.

Its sheer scale has captured the attention of academics.

Devotees believe bathing in the rivers cleanses them of sin

Assistant Professor of Public health, Greg Greenhough, from Harvard University says the possibilities for study are endless.

"This is a group that comes from all over the world certainly all over India and they bring with them their customs and their ways of living and their own reasons for being here and in that chaotic cacophony they have an experience - that doesn't happen anywhere else in the world," he said.

It is thought the Kumbh Mela started before historical records began. In modern India the pilgrims of today are still coming for the same reasons as their forebears: spititual guidance and enlightenment.

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Mexico: Police Hunt For 20 Missing Musicians

Police are searching for 20 members of a Mexican band who have gone missing after playing a gig.

Relatives said Kombo Kolombia's 12 musicians and eight crew were scheduled to play in Hidalgo in the northeast Mexican state of Nuevo Leon on Thursday night.

But the group, who play Colombian vallenato music, seem to have vanished.

"They were not answering their mobile phones, but we just thought it was because they were in a remote place," said family member Jose Ruiz.

"We started to look for them, and we found their cars open and empty, and neither they nor their instruments were at the farm where they were scheduled to play."

Nuevo Leon security spokesman Jorge Domene confirmed the disappearance, saying that the group had not been heard from since Thursday.

Nuevo Leon, like many Mexican states, has suffered a growing wave of violence as criminal gangs engaged in kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking battle with members of opposing cartels and with police.

President Enrique Pena Nieto is trying to tackle organised crime in Mexico

According to official figures, more than 70,000 people died in Mexico from drug-related violence under former president Felipe Calderon, whose six-year term ended in 2012.

Drug gangs have killed a number of Mexican musicians in recent years.

In 2007 Sergio Gomez, singer of the band K-Paz de la Sierra, was kidnapped and later found strangled after a concert in the western state of Michoacan.

And Sergio Vega, known as El Shaka, was shot dead in 2010 by gunmen who attacked as he was driving his Cadillac in Sinaloa state, also in western Mexico.

Most victims have played narcocorridos - songs celebrating the lives of drug barons - while Kombo Kolombia specialise in Colombian pop music.

President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December 2012, has announced the creation of a new police task force to tackle Mexico's drug gang violence.

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Egypt: More Clashes After Deadly Unrest

Protesters and police have clashed in Egypt for a fourth day - as shots were fired during funerals for those killed in the worst violence in the city of Port Said.

Thousands took part in the funeral procession after noon prayers when loud gunfire sent mourners running in several directions amid chaotic scenes.

There was no police presence at the funerals in the coastal city, where shops and businesses remained closed for a second day, state television reported.

In Cairo, officers fired tear gas at dozens of anti-President Mohamed Morsi activists throwing stones near Tahrir Square - the symbolic heart of the revolt that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

At least 32 people, including two footballers, were killed on Saturday during clashes in Port Said after a Cairo court handed down death sentences to 21 supporters of Al Masry football club.

The punishments were meted out after 74 people were killed during a stadium riot at a home match against Cairo side Al Ahly last February.

In Saturday's unrest, officers opened fire as protesters went on a rampage and burned tyres, angry that fans from their area were blamed for the football deaths.

Egyptians react in Port Said to the death sentences

Armoured vehicles and military police fanned through the streets as demonstrators attacked police stations and tried to storm the Port Said jail holding the defendants.

Some attackers used automatic weapons against officers who responded with tear gas, witnesses told the AFP news agency.

There were also scuffles with officers elsewhere, including in the capital Cairo, Alexandria and Suez.

Many Egyptians reportedly believe last year's deadly stadium riot was orchestrated either by the police or Mubarak supporters, and any verdict was likely to trigger a highly charged response.

Cairo fans, known as Ultras, had threatened violence if the court had not handed out the death penalty. They cheered outside their Al Ahly club when the verdicts were announced.

But in Port Said, residents were furious that people from their city were held responsible.

Rioters tried to overrun the Port Said prison

Hotels have asked guests to leave, fearing more violence. Residents said army troops backed by tanks and armoured vehicles have taken control of the city.

The unrest came after a day of deadly protests against Islamist President Morsi, highlighting deep political divisions in the country and long-standing tensions between police and demonstrators.

Nine people were killed on Friday, mainly in the port city of Suez, and hundreds more were injured across the nation.

In Suez on Saturday, police fired tear gas when protesters angry at the earlier deaths threw petrol bombs and stormed a police post and other governmental buildings.

Around 18 prisoners in Suez police stations managed to escape during the violence, a security source told Reuters, and 30 police weapons were stolen.

Egypt's national defence council, which is headed by President Morsi, appealed for calm and called for dialogue with "independent national figures" to agree on a plan for upcoming parliamentary elections.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton expressed "great concern" over the violence, urging the authorities "to restore calm and order" and appealing for restraint.

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