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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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 five are due in court again on February 5 when the prosecution will call three witnesses to the formal start of the trial.

The accused, 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 covered.

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.

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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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Mexico: Pemex Oil Company HQ Blast Kills 25

Twenty-five people are dead and at least 100 injured after an explosion at the headquarters of Mexican oil company Pemex.

Some 46 people remain in hospital following the blast at the state-owned firm which blew out windows and damaged three floors of the 52-storey skyscraper in Mexico City's commercial centre.

There are reports that as many as 30 people could be trapped in the debris from the explosion, which 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."

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.

The blast happened in a busy central district of Mexico City

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.

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 ministry spokesman Eduardo Sanchez told Milenio: "Right now they're conducting a tour of the building and the area adjacent to the blast site to verify if there are any still trapped so they can be rescued immediately."

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.

President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Twitter: "I profoundly lament the deaths of our fellow workers at Pemex. My condolences to their families."

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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Fireworks Truck Explodes Killing Eight In China

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

Eight 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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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Turkey: 'Explosion' Outside US Embassy

Several people have been hurt after an explosion in front of the US embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara, reports say.

An Associated Press journalist reported seeing a body in the street at a side entrance.

It was not immediately clear what the cause of the blast was.

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

He was driving about 400 metres away from the US embassy when the reported blast happened.

Mr Cevik thought there were "a lot of injuries" as he "saw lots of ambulances and I thought there was something really serious".

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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 is expected to join Paris St Germain after leaving LA Galaxy, according to Sky sources.

The former England captain is believed to be undergoing a medical before his signing is expected to be announced at a news conference scheduled for 4pm.

The 37-year-old left LA Galaxy in December after a six-year stint in America's Major League Soccer and is understood to have had a number of lucrative offers from around the world.

In recent days he has been training Arsenal but manager Arsene Wenger said there were no plans to sign the former Manchester United midfielder who "doesn't look at all to be in shape".

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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 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 the 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.

Ryanair had refused to reimburse Denise McDonagh

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".

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 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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Spain GDP Shrinks For Sixth Straight Quarter

Spain has sunk even deeper into recession, according to latest figures.

The struggling eurozone country saw its gross domestic product (GDP) shrink by 0.7% in the fourth quarter.

The contraction was worse than expected and means Spain has now suffered six straight quarters of negative growth.

Spain's economy contracted by a total of 1.37% in 2012 and year-on-year GDP has contracted for five quarters.

Statistics showed Spain's economy shrank at the fastest pace in a year, as budget cutbacks and increasing unemployment prompted households to slash spending even more.

On Tuesday it was revealed that Spanish retail sales over the Christmas period were down more than 10% on the year before.

The National Statistics Institute (NSI) said the latest GDP estimate would be finalised on February 28 when the official figure is released.

Last week the NSI said the jobless rate for the last three months of 2012, for those aged 16 to 24, had soared to 55.13%.

The unemployment figure for young people was up from 52.34% in the previous quarter.

Overall, Spain's unemployment rate has risen to its highest level since measurements began in the 1970s, as a prolonged recession and deep spending cuts have left almost six million people out of work at the end of last year.

The nationwide jobless total rose 1% to 26.02% in the fourth quarter of 2012, or 5.97 million people, according to the NSI.

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Nigerian Farmers Lose Shell Oil Claim

Judges have rejected most of a landmark case brought by Nigerian farmers against Royal Dutch Shell over the poisoning of fish ponds and farmland with leaking pipelines.

The Dutch Hague Civil Court rejected all cases against the Netherlands-based company.

However, in one case, it ordered subsidiary Shell Nigeria to compensate a farmer for breach of duty of care by making it too easy for saboteurs to open an oil pipe.

The level of damages in that case will be established at a later hearing.

The court rejected other claims, saying they were caused by saboteurs and, under Nigerian law, oil companies are not responsible unless they breach their duty of care.

The complaint was brought by four Nigerians and Friends of the Earth

Both sides have three months to appeal.

The case was seen by activists as a test for holding multinational companies responsible for alleged offences at foreign subsidiaries.

Four Nigerians and environmental group Friends of the Earth filed the suit in 2008 in the Netherlands - where Shell has its global headquarters - seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land and waterways in the Niger Delta region.

The court backed Shell's argument that the spills were caused by sabotage and not poor maintenance of its facilities, as had been argued by the Nigerians.

"Shell Nigeria should and could have prevented this sabotage in an easy way," the ruling said. "This is why the district court has sentenced Shell Nigeria to pay damages to the Nigerian plaintiff."

The area is the main source of food for Nigeria's poorest

The Nigerians - fishermen and farmers - said they could no longer feed their families because the region had been polluted by oil from Shell's pipelines and production facilities.

The pollution is a result of oil spills in 2004, 2005 and 2007, they said.

It is the first time a Dutch-registered company has been sued in a domestic court for offences allegedly carried out by a foreign subsidiary.

The suit targeted Shell's parent company in the Netherlands and its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Co. It is the largest oil and gas company in Nigeria, Africa's top energy producer, with an output of more than one million barrels of oil or equivalent per day.

Shell lawyers in October said that the company had played its part in cleaning up the Delta, which accounts for more than 50% of Nigeria's oil exports.

The Niger Delta has about 31 million inhabitants and includes the Ogoniland region. It is the main source of food for the impoverished, rural population.

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Kazakhstan: 20 Feared Dead In Plane Crash

A plane reported to be carrying 20 passengers and crew has crashed near Almaty, Kazakhstan.

All 20 people - 15 passengers and five crew - on board were killed, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, quoting SCAT airlines.

The accident reportedly happened near Almaty, the financial capital of the Central Asian country, close to the border with neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.

The plane had been en route from the city of Kokshetau in northern Kazakhstan to the southeast city when it crashed near the village of Kyzyl Tu, Interfax said.

There was thick fog in the area.

"There was no fire, no explosion. The plane just plunged to the earth," said Yuri Ilyin, deputy head of the city's emergency department.

SCAT is based in Kazakhstan and operates extensive domestic services and some international flights.

The type of plane involved in the crash is not yet known; SCAT flies Boeing 757s and 737s, along with the Yak-42 and the An-24, according to reports.

It was the second plane crash in the former Soviet republic in just a over a month.

A military transport airplane crashed in bad weather near the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent on December 25, killing all 27 people on board.

Prosecutors have said that a fatal combination of technical problems, bad weather and human errors caused that accident.

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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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Mali: British Troops To Join French Mission

Mali: Islamists Burn Ancient Papers

Updated: 7:21pm UK, Monday 28 January 2013

French troops are inside the historic city of Timbuktu in Mali after advancing north into an area held by Islamist militants.

As they fled, the insurgents apparently set fire to a library that is home to thousands of ancient manuscripts, an act described by the city's mayor as a "devastating blow" to world heritage.

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford was the first journalist to enter Timbuktu as the French were heading into the city.

She 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."

But amid the apparent relief among local people, she reported the anger of those who said they were helpless to stop the Islamists burning ancient documents at the city's main library, the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Islamic Studies and Research.

Inside the building, which had reportedly been used as a sleeping quarters by the Islamists, Crawford 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. "This was all the documentation they'd built up over centuries of life in Timbuktu - all either burned 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, who is embedded with the French forces, visited the tombs of three local Sufi saints, which were centuries old. Her report showed they had been reduced to piles of rubble.

UNESCO says that one of those 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 were destroyed because they contravened Islam, encouraging Muslims to venerate saints instead of God.

Ground forces backed by French paratroopers and helicopters had taken control of Timbuktu's airport and the roads leading to the town in an overnight operation.

It is part of the French-led mission to oust the radical Islamists from the northern half of Mali, which they seized more than nine months ago in the wake of a military coup in the distant capital of Bamako.

The French and Malian forces so far have met little resistance.

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

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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 the 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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Brazil Nightclub Fire: Security 'Blocked Exit'

Security guards tried to block people from leaving a nightclub in Brazil where more than 230 people were killed in a fire, survivors and rescuers have said.

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

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.

Witnesses said a flare or firework lit by members of a band onstage started the fire.

Men try to break through a wall to help the victims

Police inspector Marcelo Arigony confirmed survivors' accounts that security guards initially tried to block people from exiting the club.

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

But Mr Arigony said the guards did not appear to block fleeing patrons for long.

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

Officials say 233 people died, and around 117 others were injured.

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

Some of those who escaped the building tried to smash a hole in the wall to allow other trapped people out.

Fire chief Guido de Melo said there was panic after the fire started and many revellers were trampled. He said the main cause of death was asphyxiation.

Mr Melo said firefighters had a hard time getting inside the club because "there was a barrier of bodies blocking the entrance".

"Security guards blocked their exit and did not allow them to leave quickly. That caused panic," he said.

Within hours, the bodies of the victims were lined up in a community gym, partially covered with black plastic as desperate family members identified their relatives.

Many of those who died were under 20 years old, including some children.

The packed club had only one exit

The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

Mr Melo said the club was authorised to be open, though its permit was in the process of being renewed.

But he pointed to possible safety violations - from the flare that went off during the show to the locked door that kept people from getting out.

"The problem was the use of pyrotechnics, which is not permitted," Mr Melo said.

Police inspector Sandro Meinerz told the Agencia Estado news agency the band was to blame for a pyrotechnics show and that manslaughter charges could be filed.

The club's management said in a statement that its staff were trained and prepared to deal with any emergency. It said it would help authorities with their investigation.

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.

"There was so much smoke and fire, it was complete panic, and it took a long time for people to get out, there were so many dead," survivor Luana Santos Silva told the Globo TV network.

The fire took place in Santa Maria

Another 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."

Guitarist Rodrigo Martins told Radio Gaucha that the band had started playing at 2.15am.

"We had played around five songs when I looked up and noticed the roof was burning," he said.

"It might have happened because of the Sputnik, the machine we use to create a luminous effect with sparks. It's harmless, we never had any trouble with it.

"When the fire started, a guard passed us a fire extinguisher, the singer tried to use it but it wasn't working."

He confirmed that accordion player Danilo Jacques, 28, had died, while the five other members made it out safely.

Mr Martin told Radio Gaucha that the band was already seeing hostile messages.

"People on the social networks are saying we have to pay for what happened," he said. "I'm afraid there could be retaliation."

Brazil President Dilma Rousseff arrived to visit the injured after cutting short her trip to a Latin American-European summit in Chile.

"It is a tragedy for all of us," Ms Rousseff said.

Britain's Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said he was "deeply saddened" by "tragic accident" and sent his condolences.

The blaze was the deadliest in Brazil since at least 1961, when a fire that swept through a circus killed 503 people in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro.

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Chicago Mum Loses Fourth Child To Gun Crime

A mother in Chicago has lost her fourth child to the gun violence which has turned the city into the US murder capital.

Ronnie Chambers was shot in the head early on Saturday while sitting in a parked car on the city's west side.

His mother, Shirley Chambers, previously lost her two other sons and her daughter in separate shootings stretching back 18 years.

"Right now, I'm totally lost because Ronnie was my only surviving son," the grieving mother told WLS-TV.

Her first child, Carlos, was shot and killed aged 18 by a high school classmate in 1995 after an argument. 

Her daughter Latoya, then 15, and her other son Jerome were shot and killed within months of each other in 2000.

"What did I do wrong? I was there for them. We didn't have everything we wanted but we had what we needed," she said.

Ronnie Chambers wanted to turn his life around. Pic: The Ricki Lake Show.

"They took my only child. I have nobody right now. That's my only baby," she added.

Ronnie Chambers appeared on an episode of The Ricki Lake Show last month, where he was described as a former gang member.

The 34-year-old told the TV host that he was attempting to turn his life around and that his siblings' murders had prompted him to "do something different".

Mrs Chambers said her son was following through on his pledge, despite the pervading gun culture.

"We need tougher gun laws, where people will know they will be in prison for a long time if they choose to pick up a gun and take a life," she told the Sun-Times newspaper.

Her son was one of at least five people gunned down over the weekend in Chicago.

A few hours later, a gunman opened fire on three men on the city's south side, killing two of them and wounding the third, police said.

On Saturday afternoon, detectives were called to the scene of another shooting in which a man in his 30s and a teenager were killed.

Chicago police guard the scene of another fatal shooting

Chicago's homicide count soared above 500 last year for the first time since 2008.

But as grim as that landmark is, the city's homicide rate was almost double in the early 1990s when it averaged around 900. 

Since then violent crime has fallen significantly, and continues to fall, in America's biggest cities, including New York and Los Angeles.

Chicago's current record stands in sharp contrast.

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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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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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Brazil Nightclub Fire: 'Ninety' Killed

At least 90 people have died from smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at a nightclub in southern Brazil.

Around 200 others are being treated in several hospitals after the blaze in the city of Santa Maria in Rio Grande do Sul.

It is believed to have started at 2am after a pyrotechnic show for a local band at the Kiss nightclub.

The sound proofing of the building reportedly caught fire and smoke from this then asphyxiated victims.

The blaze spread quickly and produced a thick black smoke. One report said 200 people or more had died in the tragedy.

It is thought the venue only had one emergency exit and firefighters made a hole in the wall to help people escape.

Firefighters confirmed all the deaths were due to smoke inhalation.

"We have just taken the fire under control," Colonel Silvia Fuchs of the local fire department was quoted by Reuters as saying.

"Now we are removing the bodies."

More follows...

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