Bin Laden: US Businessman Seeks $25m Reward

A businessman who claims he tipped-off the FBI about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden's secret compound is seeking a reward of $25m (£15.6m).

Tom Lee claims he knew where bin Laden was hiding (pic: Mlive)

Gem dealer Tom Lee, 63, claims that in 2003 a Pakistani intelligence agent, from a family he had known for decades, told him bin Laden was in Peshawar in Pakistan, not Afghanistan.

The man allegedly described how he had been sent on a mission by Pakistani intelligence services to relocate bin Laden and his family to a small compound in Bilal, Abbottabad.

A letter sent by Mr Lee's lawyers to FBI director James Comey in August claims Mr Lee subsequently shared this information with FBI agents.

But despite "numerous attempts" to claim his reward after bin Laden's death in 2011 he received no response.

"Mr Lee precisely identified the whereabouts of the most notorious terrorist of our era," said the letter.

"A man responsible for the World Trade Center attacks, the most devastating act of terror committed on American soil, and numerous other assaults on Americans."

US Navy Seals during the raid on bin Laden's hideout in 2011

Mr Lee told The Grand Rapids Press in an email on Friday that he did not understand why the government waited to act for eight years.

"It disturbs me, and it should disturb every American, that I told them exactly where bin Laden was in 2003, and they let him live another eight years," he said in the email.

Mr Lee, who became Lord of Stanbury Manor in England in 1997 after purchasing the title, claims to have provided the FBI with intelligence before, and said the lack of action surprised him.

Mr Lee allegedly told the FBI about the compound in 2003

"For 20 years I was used to the government acting immediately on my intelligence," he said.

During their hunt for bin Laden, US authorities offered the reward to anyone who supplied information that led to bin Laden's capture or conviction.

The FBI has so far refused to comment.

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LA Airport Attack: 'Gunman Sent Suicide Text'

A man suspected of carrying out a deadly attack at Los Angeles International Airport sent a suicidal text message to his sibling, police have said.

The alleged gunman shot his way past a screening checkpoint, killing a security officer and wounding three other people before being injured in a shoot-out and taken into custody, authorities said.

The suspect has been identified as 23-year-old Paul Ciancia, who police have said appeared to have a grudge against security services.

His father, who has the same name, called his local police chief around the time of the shooting to report his son had sent the text and he needed to find him, police said.

The elder Paul Ciancia, from Pennsville, New Jersey, telephoned Allen Cummings, telling him one of his children had received the message from the younger Ciancia "in reference to him taking his own life".

At the time, the 23-year-old man was carrying out his shooting using a semi-automatic rifle, authorities said.

The attack caused major disruption to travellers

A motive was not clear, but Ciancia was wearing military fatigues and carrying a bag containing a handwritten note that said he "wanted to kill TSA (Transport Security Administration) and pigs," according to a law enforcement official.

The official said the rant referred to how Ciancia believed his constitutional rights were being violated by TSA searches and that he was upset at former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Ciancia, who managed to enter the secure area of Terminal 3, was reportedly shot in the mouth and leg by two airport police officers.

After getting the call from the suspect's father, Mr Cummings contacted LA police, who sent a patrol car to Ciancia's apartment.

He said: "Basically, there were two roommates there. They said, 'We saw him yesterday and he was fine.'"

A police officer at Los Angeles airport

Mr Cummings said his police department had never had dealings with the younger Ciancia.

Neighbour Josh Pagan, 17, said: "He was never weird toward me. He never gave me any weird vibes."

He added that in the 10 years he has lived across the street from the Ciancia family "they've been nothing but nice to us."

The airport attack disrupted more than 700 flights across the US. One witness at LAX, Brian Keech, said he heard "about a dozen gunshots" from inside the security gate.

Travellers described a chaotic scene as security staff evacuated terminals and rushed them outside to the tarmac.

The man who died was named as 39-year-old Gerardo I. Hernandez - the first TSA officer killed in the line of duty in the 12-year history of the agency, founded in the aftermath of 9/11.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the response of officers and said: "There were more than 100 more rounds that could have literally killed everybody in that terminal today. Were it not for their actions, it could have been a lot more damage."

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New Pakistan Taliban Leader After Drone Strike

The number two commander in the Pakistani Taliban has been promoted to leader after its previous chief was killed in a US drone strike.

Khan Said, also known as Sajna, now commands the militant group following a meeting of the supreme ruling council, according to security officials.

Said is believed to have masterminded an attack on a jail in north-west Pakistan that freed nearly 400 prisoners in 2012 and an attack on a Pakistani air force base in the same year.

Previous leader Hakimullah Mehsud had a $5m (£3.1m) US government bounty on his head and was one of Pakistan's most wanted men.

He has been buried after being killed on Friday along with four associates when a drone targeted his car in a compound in the country's North Waziristan tribal district.

A senior US intelligence official confirmed the strike, adding that the US had received positive confirmation that Mehsud had been killed.

A Pakistani Taliban fighter said Mehsud's body was "damaged but recognisable". His bodyguard and driver were also killed.

Hakimullah Mehsud (c) seen with other Taliban militants in a video in 2009

Spokesman for the militant group, Azam Tariq, said: "Every drop of Hakimullah's blood will turn into a suicide bomber. America and their friends shouldn't be happy because we will take revenge for our martyr's blood."

Mehsud, who was believed to be aged in his mid-30s, has been reported dead several times before.

The US offered the $5m bounty after he appeared in a video with a Jordanian suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a base in Afghanistan in 2009.

Mehsud was also believed to be behind a failed car bombing in New York's Times Square in 2010, as well as brazen attacks inside Pakistan.

The US National Counterterrorism Centre describes Mehsud as "the self-proclaimed emir of the Pakistani Taliban". 

The CIA and the White House declined to comment on the death.

The killing is the latest in a series of setbacks for the Pakistani Taliban.

A drone strike killed Mehsud's number two, Waliur Rehman, in May and one of his most trusted lieutenants was captured in Afghanistan last month.

The death comes at a politically sensitive time and follows months of debate over potential peace talks between the Taliban and the new government of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who swept to a landslide victory in May elections.

Pakistan's government has been trying to cut a peace deal with the militants to end years of fighting that has killed thousands of Pakistani civilians and security forces.

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Tijuana Drug Smuggling Super Tunnel Found

A drug smuggling "super tunnel" has been discovered by US officials linking Tijuana in Mexico to San Diego.

The tunnel had an electric rail system

It is one of the most sophisticated secret passages ever found along the US-Mexico border and "would have cost millions of dollars to complete".

Authorities seized 8.5 tonnes of marijuana and 327lbs of cocaine during the raid. Three men were also arrested.

The tunnel, linking warehouses in Tijuana and San Diego's Otay Mesa industrial area, was equipped with lighting, ventilation and an electric rail system.

It was discovered after weeks of surveillance

"They've worked very hard over a year, maybe two years to build a tunnel of this sophistication. It's taken hundreds of thousands of man hours and millions of dollars to complete," said Bill Sherman of the Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Federal agents had the San Diego warehouse under surveillance after being tipped off by an informant who told them operators bought drills and other construction equipment in August and September.

"This complex underground passageway zig-zags for about a third of a mile under the border at a depth of approximately 35ft on average," said Derek Benner of US Immigration and Customs .

Authorities seized 8.5 tonnes of marijuana and 327lbs

"The passageway is four feet in height, it's approximately three feet wide."                 

US Attorney Laura Duffy described the tunnel as sophisticated and said they were probably built by engineers and architects.

"They are hi-tech, they include railways, push carts, ventilation systems, and hydraulically-controlled steel doors," she said.

Federal agents were tipped off by an informant

The tunnel is the eighth major passage discovered in San Diego since 2006, a period during which Mexico's Sinaloa cartel has solidified its hold on the prized smuggling corridor.

Some of the largest tunnels have been discovered after central Mexico's marijuana harvest in October, which presents drug cartels with a challenge of how to quickly get their product to consumers.

In November 2011, authorities found a 1,800ft tunnel that resulted in seizures of 32 tonnes of marijuana on both sides of the border, with 26 tonnes found on the US side - one of the largest seizures in US history.

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Gunmen Fire At Hotel On Route To Pyramids

Armed men have opened fire on the Amarante Pyramids Hotel on the road from Cairo to the Pyramids at Giza.

State-run Al-Ahram online said there were no casualties in the attack, which was a result of a dispute over drinks.

However, the interior ministry spokesman,  General Hany Abdel Latif, said the shooting was carried out by laid off hotel workers. 

The attackers were angered after they were refused entry to the hotel, Mena news agency reported.

An AFP correspondent said the scene of the attack was calm by midday on Friday, with the only security presence being the usual hotel guard.

Since the military's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July, militants have escalated attacks in the capital and the Sinai peninsula.

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Niger Migrant Deaths: Three Days Of Mourning

The Niger government has announced three days of national mourning for 92 migrants who died trying to cross the Sahara desert.

The government reportedly said it was "profoundly moved" by the tragedy and that the country would "pray for the memory" of the 52 children, 33 women and seven men who died.

Their decomposed bodies, some of them eaten by jackals, were found last week, a few miles from the border with Algeria where they were believed to be heading.

The victims are thought to have died of thirst in the desert

They are thought to have died of thirst after two vehicles they were travelling in broke down and they went in search of water.

During the mourning period, which begins on Friday, flags will fly at half-mast across the territory of the deeply poor west African country in tribute to the victims, who all came from Niger.

A security source said that 21 people out of 113 managed to survive. Two of them arrived in the north Nigerien uranium-mining town of Arlit and 19 reached Tamanrasset, but were sent back to Niger.

Most of the victims were women and children

A woman who came from south Niger and allegedly organised the journey was detained by security forces in Tamanrasset, where she lived, and sent back to Arlit, where she was locked up, the security source said.

Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and regularly faces food crises, leading many to try and flee the country abroad.

Migrants are often found dead in the north African desert, frequently abandoned by people smugglers to their fate, but not usually on the scale of the latest tragedy.

The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that at least 30,000 economic migrants passed through Agadez, northern Niger's largest city, between March and August of this year.

Libya, rather than Algeria, is generally the favoured country of transit for west Africans making the journey across the continent, many aiming to travel on to Europe.

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Niger Migrants Die After Sahara Breakdown

The bodies of 87 migrants have been found in the desert in Niger, all having died of thirst after their vehicles broke down and they went in search of water.

The seven men, 32 women and 48 children were discovered a few miles from the border with Algeria, where they were believed to be heading.

Some of them had been eaten by jackals, local officials said.

The bodies of another five women and girls were found earlier.

All are said to have died earlier this month after setting out in late September.

Almoustapha Alhacen, from the local aid organisation Aghir In'man, said: "The corpses were decomposed; it was horrible.

"We found them in different locations in a 20km (12 mile) radius and in small groups, often under trees. Sometimes a mother and children, but some lone children, too."

He said the bodies were buried according to Muslim rites "as and when they were found".

Niger has been hit by a series of food crises. Pic: File

Nigerien officials said on Monday that dozens of migrants, most of them women and children, had died of thirst in the Sahara desert earlier this month.

They were in two vehicles which broke down, one about 50 miles (80km) from Arlit in northern Niger from where they had set off, the other about 100 miles (160km) from the city.

"The first vehicle broke down. The second returned to Arlit to get a spare part after getting all the migrants it was carrying to alight, but it too broke down," said a security source.

"We think that the migrants were in the desert for seven days and on the fifth day they began to leave the broken down vehicle in search of a well."

The source said 21 people had survived. They included a man who walked to Arlit and a woman who was saved by a driver who came across her in the desert and took her back to Arlit.

Nineteen others reached the Algerian city of Tamanrasset but were sent back to Niger, the source added.

Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and has been hit by a series of food crises.

The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that at least 30,000 economic migrants passed through Agadez, northern Niger's largest city, between March and August of this year.

Libya, rather than Algeria, is generally the favoured country of transit for west Africans making the journey across the continent, many aiming to travel on to Europe. 

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Balloon Crash Pilot 'Smoked Pot Before Flying'

The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in New Zealand, causing the deaths of 11 people, had probably smoked marijuana before take off, investigators have said.

In a Transport Accident Investigation Commission report on the January 2012 balloon accident near the town of Carterton, investigators said it was "highly likely" that 53-year-old Lance Hopping had taken the drug shortly before the flight.

"Having considered all the evidence, the commission found that the accident was caused by errors of judgement by the pilot, and the possibility that the pilot's judgement was impaired by the use of cannabis cannot be excluded," Chief Commissioner John  Marshall told reporters.

Two witnesses were quoted as saying they saw him smoking something in the morning and tests showed no indication that he had inhaled tobacco.

The balloon took off at 6.40am in good weather, but Hopping, they concluded, had made several errors of judgement including letting it get too low during the flight, applying the burners when he got near power lines in an attempt to rise above them and not descending fast enough when he was about to strike the lines.

A policeman mans the road where the balloon came down

The balloon basket became entangled in the lines and exploded into flames, the report found.

The heat then caused the balloon to break free of the wires and rapidly ascend, before crashing into the ground,

Two of the passengers who jumped out when the balloon was about about 20 metres (66 ft) up died in the fall. Hopping and the remaining passengers were killed when the balloon crashed to the ground.

The commission urged politicians to pass stricter drug restrictions for pilots, boat captains and other transport operators and said random drug tests were needed.

"It is totally unacceptable for anyone in a safety-critical transport role, such as a pilot, to be working while impaired by a substance, whether legal or not," Mr Marshall said.

The power lines bordering the area of the crash

"Cannabis has both short and long-term impact on judgement, decision-marking, and reaction time depending upon the person, the quantity, and the frequency of use."

Adventure tourism plays a significant role in New Zealand's economy. About 2.6 million tourists visit each year, according to government statistics, with about one-third participating in sports such as bungee jumping, skydiving or jet-boating.

But safety problems have increasingly come under the spotlight.

"To people thinking of going to New Zealand on an adrenaline sport, think twice," Briton Chris Coker said last year.

His son, Bradley Coker, 24, was one of nine people killed in a skydiving plane that crashed in 2010. Investigators found the plane was overloaded.

New Zealand's Ministry of Transport said it is carefully considering the investigators recommendations.

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Syria's Chemical Weapons Equipment 'Destroyed'

Syria has destroyed all its declared chemical weapons production facilities, the international chemical weapons watchdog says.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a document - seen by the Reuters news agency - that teams had inspected 21 out of 23 chemical weapons sites across the country.

The other two were too dangerous to inspect but the chemical equipment had already been moved to other sites which had been inspected, it said.

"The OPCW is satisfied it has verified, and seen destroyed, all declared critical production/mixing/filling equipment from all 23 sites," the document said.

Under a Russian-American brokered deal, Damascus agreed to destroy all its chemical weapons after Washington threatened to use force in response to the killing of hundreds of people in a sarin attack on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21.

The United States and its allies blamed President Bashar al Assad's forces for the attack and several earlier incidents. The Syrian president has rejected the charge, blaming rebel brigades.

Under the disarmament timetable, Syria was due to render unusable all production and chemical weapons filling facilities by November 1 - a target it has now met.

By mid-2014 it must have destroyed its entire stockpile of chemical weapons.

The first monthly report by the inspectors, covering their work on the ground since October 1, has been sent to the UN Security Council by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

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India: Bus Crash Kills At Least 40 People

At least 40 people, including children, have been killed after a bus crashed into an oil tanker and burst into flames in southern India.

It is being reported that many victims, who were apparently asleep at the time of the collision, were trapped inside and were burned alive in the inferno.

The vehicle, which was carrying around 44 passengers, was travelling from Bangalore city to Hyderabad when the crash happened, around 800 miles from the Indian capital, New Delhi.

The bus hit the tanker on Kothakota flyover in Mahbubnagar district, police said.

Authorities were questioning the survivors to get further details.

The driver was among those who managed to escape through a window, according to a district official.

Road accidents are common in India, where roads are often in poor repair.

The country has the highest annual road death toll in the world, according to the World Health Organisation, with police figures showing more than 110,000 people are killed every year.

Transport officials blame a large number of accidents in the country on reckless driving and untrained drivers.

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US Spy Chief Quotes Casablanca To Defend NSA

The US spy chief has said snooping on foreign leaders is a "basic tenet" of intelligence operations worldwide, rejecting criticism of American surveillance practices.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before an intelligence committee in Congress amidst reports that the US had listened in on the phone calls of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and monitored 34 other leaders.

He played down European allies' complaints about spying on their leaders, saying they do it, too.

Actor Claude Rains played Captain Renault in Casablanca

"That's a hardy perennial," he said.

Mr Clapper cited a scene from the movie Casablanca to suggest that all nations spy on foreign leaders and had done so for decades.

"Some of this reminds me a lot of the classic movie Casablanca: 'My God, there's gambling going on here!'" he said.

He was referring to the scene in which the French Captain Renault said he was "shocked" that gambling was going on at Rick's Cafe - before being approached by a croupier who tells him: "Your winnings, sir."

Mr Clapper also said the White House was informed in general terms of the National Security Agency's overseas eavesdropping, though not necessarily on the details of specific efforts.

The spying row exploded months ago when revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden unveiled the scope of the US government's spying operations.

It has deepened in recent weeks with claims of overseas spying.

Barack Obama has spoken to foreign leaders including Ms Merkel to quell the storm, and has recently said a reassessment of the practices was necessary. The president is also said to be considering whether to stop spying on foreign leaders.

Also testifying before an intelligence committee on Tuesday was NSA director General Keith Alexander, who said European reports that the US collected data on tens of millions of phone calls in France, Spain and Italy are false.

The NSA director also defended the agency's record

General Alexander insisted the agency was acting within legal boundaries and operated under "strict oversight".

He said: "It is much more important for this country that we defend this nation and take the beatings than it is to give up a programme that would result in this nation being attacked."

Some of the data referenced in documents leaked by Snowden was "provided to NSA by foreign partners", he said.

"This is not information that we collected on European citizens.

"It represents information that we and our Nato allies have collected in defence of our countries and in support of military operations."

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Tunisia: Suicide Bomber Strikes At Beach Resort

A man has blown himself up at a Mediterranean resort town in Tunisia which is popular with British holidaymakers.

The man, who was wearing a belt of explosives, detonated his charge near the Riadh Palm Hotel in Sousse - moments before security forces foiled a second similar attack elsewhere.

Witnesses told Tunisian media that the man appeared to be about to enter the hotel when he exploded.

It is believed to be the first suicide bombing ever in Tunisia.

A would-be suicide bomber who tried to blow himself up at the tomb of former President Habib Bourguiba in the southern city of Monastir was captured by police.

The suicide bombing was in Sousse, and a second attack foiled in Monastir

"An attempted attack targeting the compound of the Bourguiba mausoleum was foiled ... and a young man carrying explosives was arrested," said ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Laroui.

The suicide bomber in Sousse, which is situated 90 miles south of the capital Tunis, was the only person killed in the attack, the interior ministry said.

There were no immediate reports of any other casualties.

Sousse has long been a major destination for European tourism, a sector that was just now recovering from a catastrophic drop following the country's 2011 revolution which kick-started the Arab Spring.

The country has been battling unrest since the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's secular dictatorship, and has seen the rise of a hardline Islamist movement that has armed itself and carried out attacks.

Earlier this year, Tunisia's moderate Islamist government began a crackdown on Ansar al-Sharia, one of the most radical groups to emerge since the uprising.

The group's leader is a former al Qaeda veteran who once fought in Afghanistan.

Nine police officers were killed in clashes with militants earlier this month.

More follows...

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Mechanics Find Baby Girl 'Living In Car Boot'

A mechanic has spoken of the moment he found an underfed and dehydrated baby who had been forced to live hidden in a car boot, possibly since birth.

The girl, aged between 15 and 23 months, was discovered on Friday when her mother brought the car to a garage in Terrasson, in central France.

One of the workers heard "bizarre noises, like moans" coming from the car boot and opened it to find the girl.

Garage director Denis Latour said: "She was naked, on the side there was a crib ... and there was this unbearable smell.

"The baby girl was laying on garbage bags at the bottom of the trunk … crying and trying to get some fresh air because not only did it smell, but it was also hermetic."

Mechanic Guillaume Iguacel, who found the girl, said: "I'm still having trouble sleeping, it was a horrifying sight, seeing this little girl in her own excrement, not able to hold up her head, white as a sheet."

Mr Iguacel said the girl's mother appeared to have little concern for her daughter.

He said: "We were deeply shocked because she didn't find this abnormal.

"We told her to remove the little girl (from the boot) and give her something to drink right away."

The girl was taken to hospital where doctors said she was suffering from delayed growth and mental problems.

Local prosecutor Jean-Pierre Laffite said the baby "was hidden, it seems since birth, and more seriously, she is suffering from significant (developmental) delays".

The situation "defies belief", he said.

The girl's mother, 45, and her 40-year-old partner were arrested and charged on Sunday with child abuse and endangering a minor.

The pair face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

The mother told police she had given birth in secret and hidden the baby's existence from everyone, including her partner, the girl's father.

The couple have three other children - a four-year-old girl and two boys aged nine and 10 - who were handed over to social services following their parents' arrest.

The couple, who were both of Portuguese origin and both unemployed, lived in the village of Brignac, about six miles (10km) from the garage where the baby was found.

Neighbours told French media the mother had been behaving strangely and was seen spending an unusual amount of time in the car.

"We had the impression this woman lived in her car. She never left it," a neighbour identified as Pascale told Le Parisien newspaper.

"I remember seeing her several times a week with her car parked in a lot about 200 metres from her home.

"The boot was always open. I was wondering what she could be doing."

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Tiananmen Square Car Blaze: Police Hunt Suspects

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

Chinese police are investigating whether an incident in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in which a jeep burst into flames, killing five people, might have been an attack by Muslim separatists from the western Xinjiang province.

No official details have been released but a document, circulated online and purported to be from the Chinese police, names two suspects and claims that the authorities are searching for several vehicles, all with Xinjiang number plates.

The document is addressed to all Beijing hotels and is described as a "notice of arrangement of the immediate search of suspect vehicles".

In Chinese, it reads: "On 28 October, 2013, our city had a major case.

"The suspects are Yusupu Aiheputi (male, registered residence address 2-3-27-1 Pishan Farm, Pishan County, Xinjiang province) and Yusupu Wumaierniyazi (male, registered residence address Unit 1 Sangejiao Village, Lukeqin Town, Shanshan County, Xinjiang province).

The crash took place directly below an iconic portrait of Chairman Mao

"The suspected vehicles are light coloured Sports Utility Vehicles, number plates: XinA45559, XinA82Q53, XinC96063 and XinBM7831."

The document adds: "To prevent suspected personnel and vehicles from continuing their crime, we are now asking all accommodation providers to immediately search all guests, parking vehicles and cars driven by former guests from October 1.

"If any discovery is made of the suspects or vehicles, please report to the security team's action and management branch."

The incident in Tiananmen Square took place directly underneath the iconic portrait of Chairman Mao, which hangs on the Tiananmen Gate at the north end of the square and represents one of the most symbolic locations in China.

The 4x4 vehicle left the main highway which crosses the square and veered into a crowd of tourists queuing to visit the Forbidden City.

Tiananmen Square was open on Tuesday but was heavily policed

The three occupants of the car died inside. Two tourists - one Chinese and one Filipino - were also killed and 37 people were injured.

Initially, Chinese authorities said the incident was a car crash. The scene was cleared up quickly and the square reopened to traffic and tourists within a few hours.

Foreign journalists were asked not to film the aftermath. Sky News staff were detained for 20 minutes and forced to delete all their footage.

Government censors spent the day deleting the theories and photographs from China's increasingly vocal social media forums.

There was no mention of the incident on China's main national evening news on state television.

Chinese language newspapers have reported simply that there was an accident in Tiananmen Square, although the English language state-run newspapers have included the suggestion that there may be links to the Uighur people of Xinjiang Province.

Screens were erected to hide the scene of the crash

Almost half the population of Xinjiang province, in the China's far west, are Muslim Uighurs, who accuse the Chinese government of violently eroding their religion and their culture.

They consider themselves to be culturally and ethnically much closer to the central Asian nations than to China and claim their ethnic identity is being diluted by the co-ordinated mass migrations of Han Chinese, the country's majority ethnic group, into the province.

The Chinese central government in Beijing, more than 2,000 miles to the east, has long claimed the Uighurs are waging a campaign of violence in an effort to secure themselves an independent state.

Incidents of violent clashes between Chinese state security forces and Uighurs in Xinjiang are common.

However, the facts are extremely hard to verify independently because foreign journalists are restricted from reporting in the region.

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Drone Kills Al Shabaab Bombmaker Ali Abdi

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

The man said to be the master bombmaker for the al Shabaab terrorist group has been killed by a drone strike in southern Somalia.

A car carrying Ibrahim Ali Abdi, also known as Anta Anta, was hit by three missiles as it travelled along a road near the town of Jilib on Monday.

Somali intelligence sources, quoted by news agencies, said Ali Abdi was the group's explosives expert and specialised in making suicide vests and car bombs.

A witness to the attack, Hassan Nur, told Reuters he saw a drone above the Suzuki vehicle in which at least two men were travelling.

"I saw a big crash and then saw a drone disappearing far into the sky ... many al Shabaab men came to the scene," he said.

Al Shabaab was behind the September massacre on a Kenyan shopping centre

"Many cars were driving ahead of me, but the drone targeted this Suzuki."

An unnamed American official told the LA Times the strike was carried out by the US Army, but this has not been officially confirmed.

The US is known to operate drones from bases in Djibouti and southern Ethiopia.

The air strike follows a pattern of pressure bearing down on al Shabaab, which has been driven from Somalia's main towns by a combination of African Union forces and clandestine American operations. 

Al Shabaab hit back with the recent attack on a Nairobi shopping mall but appears unable to regain any ground inside Somalia. 

The loss of its chief bombmaker is a blow to the group as it will take time to train other men up to the deadly standard of Ali Abdi.

It comes less than a fortnight since the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack near a military base in the city of Beledweyne, around 210 miles north of Somalian capital Mogadishu, which killed at least 13 people.

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Mangaung: G4S Prison In 'Torture' Claims Probe

A South African prison run by British security firm G4S has been accused of torturing inmates with electric shocks and subjecting them to forced injections.

Insiders at Mangaung Correctional Centre, near Bloemfontein, said water was thrown over inmates to increase the impact of the electric charge.

The South African government has temporarily taken over the running of the jail from G4S and launched an investigation.

In a statement, it said G4S had "lost effective control of the facility" following "recent stabbing and hostage incidents".

G4S - which is trying to recover from a series of damaging incidents with the UK government - says it has seen no evidence of abuse by its employees.

The Wits Justice Project - part of the journalism department of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg - obtained footage showing alleged abuse inside the high security prison.

It collected accounts of electric shocks and beatings from almost 30 prisoners during a year-long investigation.

In one video, the click of electrified shields and shrieking can be heard. It also shows a prisoner resisting a medication.

"Some said they would pass out when the shocks became too intense," said Ruth Hopkins, a journalist with the project.

Prisoners also complained about suffering broken limbs and other serious injuries, she said.

G4S is trying to recover from a series of damaging incidents in the UK

A staff member at the prison hospital said inmates were injected with Clopixol Depot, Risperdal, Etomine and Modecate - anti-psychotic drugs that can cause memory loss, muscle rigidity and strokes.

Former inmate Thabo Godfrey Botsane claims he was beaten by security officers because a cell in his unit had been set alight.

"They stripped me naked, poured water over me, electroshocked and kicked me," he said. "They left me naked and bleeding on the floor. A guy from the prison intelligence unit - not a nurse - came back and he injected me in my buttocks."

Former warders Pule Moholo, Dehlazwa Mdi and Themba Tom said they remember the sound of inmates screaming.

"There was a sound-proof room called the 'dark room'. EST members would bring inmates there, strip them naked, pour water over them and electroshock them," Mr Tom said. "We would try not to hear the crying and screaming. It was awful."

A G4S spokesman told Sky News it was investigating the claims.

"G4S staff at Manguang Correctional Services do not have access to medication nor do they administer medication," he said.

"All medical decisions for inmates are handled and addressed by independent certified medical staff, who may diagnose certain conditions, including any possible mental disorders, and prescribe medication in accordance with the relevant condition.

"We cannot verify the video where allegations of torture are made, however, we can confirm that we do not use any form of torture or shock treatment.

"There is an active an independent inspection regime in place at the prison - 365 days per year - and there have never been any allegations or concerns regarding anything of this nature."

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NSA Spied On Millions Of Spain And Italy Calls

Obama Under Fire Over Spying

Updated: 11:37am UK, Monday 28 October 2013

Anger in Europe and elsewhere has been mounting over US spying operations amid a flow of revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden. Here is a timeline of events.

:: June 7, 2013: Revelations by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, uncover widespread spying operations by the US government, including the Prism programme.

:: June 10, 2013: Controversy over Snowden's decision to seek refuge in Hong Kong overshadows talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama at the California desert.

:: June 12, 2013: The NSA defends the operations, saying they thwarted dozens of attacks.

:: June 19, 2013: Mr Obama gives a historic speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, but the surveillance controversy follows him and he has to defend Prism saying the US is  not "rifling through Germans' emails".

:: July 20, 2013: Several hundred people stage a protest at a suspected American surveillance facility near Frankfurt in Germany.

:: August 02, 2013: Snowden is granted a year's asylum in Russia after more than a month inside an airport terminal in Moscow.

:: August 7, 2013: Mr Obama cancels bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to Snowden.

:: September 18, 2013:  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff cancels a visit to the US amid claims her emails and telephone calls were intercepted by the NSA.

:: October 21, 2013:  France summons the US ambassador in Paris after French newspaper Le Monde reported the NSA had swept up 70.3 million French telephone records in a 30-day period. French President Francois Hollande speaks to Mr Obama over the claims.

:: October 23, 2013: Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta raises the topic of spying during talks with Secretary of State John Kerry, after Italian newspapers reported that a parliamentary committee was told the US had intercepted phone calls, emails and text messages of Italians.

:: October 24, 2013: Germany summons the US ambassador in Berlin over claims that the US carried out surveillance on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone. The issue of personal data protection is on the agenda of a European Union summit.

::October 25, 2013: Germany and France demand talks with the US by the end of the year to restore trust in the wake of the controversy. The call is backed by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

:: October 27, 2013: The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reports that Mr Obama knew in 2010 that his intelligence service was eavesdropping on Ms Merkel's phone. The report also says Mr Obama personally authorised the monitoring of the German chancellor's mobile phone.

:: October 28, 2013: The Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that the NSA spied on more than 60 million phone calls in Spain between December 10, 2012, and January 8, 2013. Italian media report that some 46 million phone calls were spied on by the NSA in the same period.

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Tiananmen Square: Car Crashes Into Crowd

Five people have been killed and 38 others injured after a Jeep crashed into a crowd in China's Tiananmen Square.

The vehicle burst into flames after crashing through barriers

The vehicle struck people as it veered off the road at the north of the square. It then hit a barrier at the entrance to the Forbidden City and burst into flames.

A female holidaymaker from the Philippines and a male tourist from China's southern Guangdong province were killed along with the driver and two passengers in the vehicle, police said.

Of the 38 injured, three were tourists from the Philippines and one from Japan, they added.

The square, which was the site of pro-democracy protests in 1989 that were brutally crushed by the authorities, was evacuated immediately after the crash.

Streets leading to the area were blocked off, with screens erected to stop people photographing the scene.

Police put up screens to stop people taking photos of the crash

Two AFP journalists were detained close to the site when they went to report on the story.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying declined to say whether the government believed it was a terror attack. She said she did not know the specifics of the case and refused to comment further.

Sky's China Correspondent Mark Stone said local reports described it as an "accident", but he said many people would find that hard to believe given the "politically-sensitive" location.

"The location of the incident couldn't be more significant. It's right underneath the portrait of Chairman Mao on the Tiananmen Gate at the entrance to the Forbidden City. It is the most symbolic location in China," he said.

Officers blocked off roads to the square

"There are three likely scenarios. One: this was a car crash which, by astonishing coincidence, took place at the most politically-sensitive place in China.

"Or it was a form of protest; possibly a political protest against the communist leadership.

"The most probable scenario, however, is that this was an extreme form of petitioning: a family with a gripe, passed over by local authorities, take things to the extreme.

"We saw this with the airport bomber - a man who blew himself up at Beijing airport earlier this year to complain about police brutality in his province."

Two hours after the incident, Sky News drove through the square to film the aftermath.

"With the exception of a wet patch on the road, the whole area had been cleared up," Stone said.

The square was the focus of a 1989 protest that was violently suppressed

"But in an indication of how sensitive the incident is, the Sky News vehicle was stopped by the authorities. They questioned the Sky team for 20 minutes and forced them to delete the video footage."

News of the incident first emerged on Chinese social media sites, with pictures showing the flaming wreck surrounded by police and emergency vehicles.

Chinese bloggers are speculating that the crash must have been intentional.

"Is this the 2013 Tiananmen self-immolation incident?" asked one poster. "There's still a person inside the car!"

Around 120 people have set themselves alight since February 2009 in Tibet and adjoining regions of China, in protests against Chinese oppression.

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Ten Cars Explode In Baghdad, Killing Dozens

Ten cars rigged with explosives have blown up in Baghdad killing more than 38 people.

The bombs were hidden in parked cars and detonated over a 30-minute period in busy streets, mainly in Shia areas.

In a separate incident, at least 12 soldiers were killed in the northern city of Mosul, when a man driving a car blew himself up outside a government bank.

The soldiers were waiting to collect their salaries, police said. 

One of the wrecked cars is lifted away

At least 100 people were injured in the Baghdad attacks, many hurt as they attended markets.

Hundreds have been killed in Iraq this month, with the often sectarian-fuelled violence reaching its highest level since 2008.

Around 1,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 hurt in September alone, according to the UN.

And unofficial counts for October suggest more than 600 have been killed.

Sunni militants, including the local offshoot of al-Qaeda, are believed to be responsible for the attacks, which usually target Shia areas.

The Shia-led government has been accused of failing to address grievances among the Sunni Arab minority, including allegations of abuses by security forces.

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Merkel's Phone 'Bugged For Decade By US'

The United States may have bugged Angela Merkel's phone for more than 10 years, it has been claimed.

Der Spiegel magazine said the German chancellor's mobile telephone had been listed by the NSA's Special Collection Service (SCS) since 2002 and was still on the list weeks before Barack Obama visited Berlin in June.

Germany's outrage over reports of bugging of Ms Merkel's phone by the NSA prompted it to summon the US ambassador for the first time in living memory.

In an SCS document cited by Der Spiegel, the agency said it had a "not legally registered spying branch" in the US embassy in Berlin, the exposure of which would lead to "grave damage for the relations of the United States to another government".

Mr Obama met with Ms Merkel in Berlin earlier this year

From there, NSA and CIA staff were tapping communication in Berlin's government district with high-tech surveillance.

Quoting a secret document from 2010, Der Spiegel said such branches existed in about 80 locations around the world, including Paris, Madrid, Rome, Prague, Geneva and Frankfurt.

The magazine said it was not clear whether the SCS had recorded conversations or just connection data.

Mr Obama apologised to Merkel when she called him on Wednesday to seek clarification on the issue, Der Spiegel wrote, citing a source in Ms Merkel's office.

Ms Merkel's spokesman and the White House declined comment.

The rift over US surveillance activities first emerged earlier this year after reports that Washington had bugged European Union offices and had tapped half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month.

But it appeared close to resolution after Ms Merkel's government said in August - just weeks before a parliamentary election - the United States had given sufficient assurances they were upholding German law.

Mr Obama ordered a review of US surveillance programmes after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents that raised alarm in the United States and abroad.

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Brooklyn Stabbings: Five Dead Including A Baby

A person is in police custody after four young children and a woman died from stab wounds in New York City.

The NYPD said that officers arrived at the scene early on Sunday and found all five victims unconscious and unresponsive.

A one-year-old boy and two girls, aged 7 and 9, were pronounced dead at the residence by emergency crews.

A 5-year-old boy and the 37-year-old woman were taken to separate Brooklyn hospitals where they were later pronounced dead.

Police did not release the victims' names or their relationship to one another.

A police officer seals off the street near the attack

Sources said a 25-year-old suspect, believed to be a relative, was arrested at the scene.

Police handcuffed the man inside the apartment, who was wearing jeans and had blood on his bare feet, before taking him away.

The children's distraught father reportedly arrived home from work to find the area sealed off by police.

One report said a machete and scissors were taken from the flat in the semi-detached building as evidence.

Fire Department spokesman Jim Long said emergency workers responded late on Saturday night to a 911 call from a person stabbed at the residence in the Sunset Park neighbourhood.

Authorities said the attack occurred at a home on 57th Street near Ninth Avenue.

The two victims declared dead at hospital had been taken to Lutheran Medical Centre and Maimonides Medical Centre.

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