Obama wants to prevent the attack by Israel on Iran

Obama wants to prevent the attack by Israel on Iran

The main purpose of the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to Israel in the spring is to deter Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attack on Iran.

Five dead on Canary Islands cruise ship

Five crew have been killed after a lifeboat they were in fell from the Thomson cruise ship Majesty while it was docked in the port of Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Canary Islands.

The accident happened during a routine safety drill at about 12:00 GMT. Three others were also hurt as the lifeboat fell into the sea, trapping occupants.
Those killed include three Indonesians, a Filipino and a Ghanaian.
The MS Thomson Majesty is operated by UK-based Thomson Cruises.
The UK Foreign Office said it was aware of the incident and was "urgently looking into it".


No passengers were involved in the accident, local reports say.
Thomson Cruises said in a statement that it was "aware of an incident involving the ship's crew on board Thomson Majesty, in La Palma, Canary Islands this afternoon".
"We are working closely with the ship owners and managers, Louis Cruises, to determine exactly what has happened and provide assistance to those affected by the incident," the statement added.
Reports said the lifeboat fell between 20 and 30 metres into the sea.

Carnival 2013: Rio street party draws 'more than 1.5m'

As Rio de Janeiro's carnival gets under way, its oldest street parade has drawn an estimated 1.5m revellers.

The samba-dancing crowd filled the streets of Rio's business district and some passed out under the summer heat.
Police arrested more than 100 partygoers for minor crimes, but the majority of celebrations were peaceful, officials say.
About 700 other street parties and the world-renowned samba schools' parade will take place in Rio until Tuesday.
The Cordao do Bola Preta 95th annual street parade kicked off at 1000 (1400 GMT) on Saturday.
Thousands, many wearing costumes, danced as live bands on lorries played tunes of traditional carnival songs and samba school themes.
The crowds converged in the early afternoon, and many revellers climbed onto parked police cars, as the massive street party drew to a close.
One of the cars had its windscreen smashed in and more than 100 were detained by the police, mostly for urinating on the streets, the authorities said.
Hundreds of other street parties are happening in Rio, many simultaneously in different parts of the city.
The samba schools competition , with its sophisticated floats and costumes, is set to happen in Rio's Sambadrome between Sunday and Monday.
The carnival is set to draw 1.1m tourists to Rio, generating some $650m (£410m) for the local economy. Hotels and restaurants are booked almost to capacity.
International stars such as US actor Will Smith, rapper Kanye West and actress Megan Fox are already in the city for the celebrations.

Brazil's annual carnival kicked off on Friday, but the parades and street parties had a sombre tinge, coming after a nightclub fire that killed 238 people.
Mourning rituals continued as the mayor of Rio de Janeiro handed over the keys of the city to carnival ceremonial figurehead King Momo.
President Dilma Rousseff attended a memorial Mass for the fire victims at Brasilia's cathedral on Thursday night.
She is not taking part in the five-day party, spending it in Bahia state.
More than 60 casualties of the inferno remain in hospital, and many cities - particularly near the southern city of Santa Maria where the fire happened - have scaled down their festivities as a result.
For Brazil, Carnival 2013 is an important test of the city's infrastructure ahead of the big sporting events lined up for the future, including the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, says the BBC's Julia Carneiro in Rio.

Mali conflict: France boosts troop numbers

 

 The BBC's Will Ross on the border with Nigerian troops: "They've got experience in countries likes Sierra Leone and Liberia."

France said it launched military action in its former colony last Friday to stop it becoming a "terrorist state" after a rapid advance by the Islamists.
Heavy fighting has been continuing, with French forces bombing Diabaly, 350km (220 miles) north of the capital.
Troops pledged by West African nations have also started arriving in Mali.
Some 100 Togolese soldiers landed in Bamako on Thursday, with 80 Nigerian troops expected shortly.
In Brussels, the EU foreign ministers agreed to press ahead with sending a team to train the weak Malian army.

"The actions of French forces, be it air forces or ground forces, are ongoing," France's Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday.

"They took place yesterday, they took place last night, they took place today, they will take place tomorrow."
On Wednesday, French and Malian sources said their forces launched the first major ground operation against the militants, with street battles taking place in Diabaly.
But Diabaly's mayor, Oumar Diakite, told the BBC from Bamako only Malian troops were involved in the battle. Both sides suffered casualties, he said.
"The Islamists were burying their dead next to our cemetery in Diabaly. There were also three bodies of Malian soldiers lying on the side of the road," Mr Diakite added.
"The residents wanted to take the bodies and bury them, but they [the militants] would not let us."
'Limited support' Mr Diakite said French forces were in the nearby town of Niono. "They are co-ordinating with the Malian army," he said.
Well-armed Islamists entered Diabaly on Monday, taking the town from Malian forces.
French fighter jets have since attacked rebel positions.

France launched its operation last Friday, after the Islamists seized Konna and began advancing further south. It had some 800 troops in Mali, before the latest deployment.

Defence sources said their numbers were expected to increase to 2,500.
Nigeria - which has promised to send a total of 900 troops as well as fighter jets - will lead the West African force.
Chad has also confirmed 2,000 soldiers will join the anti-rebel operation in Mali.
Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo have also pledged to take part.
In total, 3,300 regional troops will be deployed in the conflict under a UN Security Council resolution.
France has been pushing hard for the deployment of West African troops and the arrival of the first Nigerian troops should bring some relief to French soldiers who are only getting limited support from the fairly weak Malian army, analysts say.
It is not yet known exactly what role the West African troops will play or how well prepared they are for what is expected to be a challenging ground assault against the Islamist militants.
The UK has provided transport planes, and on Wednesday Germany gave two transport planes as logistical support.
EU foreign ministers agreed at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday to send a military training mission to Mali.
No combat role is envisaged for it.
"The threat of jihadi terrorists is something that should be a matter of great concern to all of us," Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said, ahead of the meeting, Reuters news agency reports.
"And there is not one European country that can hide if this threat would present itself to the European continent."
Islamist groups and secular Tuareg rebels took advantage of chaos following a military coup to seize northern Mali in April 2012. But the Islamists soon took control of the region's major towns, sidelining the Tuaregs.

 

Virginia executes Robert Gleason Jr.

Virginia executes Robert Gleason Jr.

 

Robert Gleason, 42, was executed at 9:08 pm local time (0308 GMT) after a year on death row, said Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections in the state of Virginia.

Boeing Dreamliner grounded by US regulator

 

 United, the only US carrier flying 787s, currently operates six of the planes

 

The US aviation regulator has told US airlines to temporarily ground Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, following a battery fault on one of the aircraft in Japan.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that airlines must demonstrate that batteries are safe before flights can resume.
Boeing said it supported the FAA but said it was confident the 787 was safe.
United Airlines is the only US airline operating the 787. Earlier, Japan's two main airlines grounded their 787s.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) grounded its fleet of 17 Dreamliners when its flight NH 692 from Yamaguchi Ube was forced to land shortly after take-off.
Japan Airlines then took similar action, grounding its seven Dreamliners.
Along with United's six Dreamliners, it means well over half of all Dreamliners in operation are now grounded.
In recent weeks, Dreamliners have suffered issues including fuel leaks, a cracked cockpit window, brake problems and an electrical fire.
Finding answers Boeing shares closed down more than 3% on Wall Street on Wednesday.
"Boeing is committed to supporting the FAA and finding answers as quickly as possible," said Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney.

"We are confident the 787 is safe and we stand behind its overall integrity. We will be taking every necessary step in the coming days to assure our customers and the travelling public of the 787's safety and to return the airplanes to service.

"Boeing deeply regrets the impact that recent events have had on the operating schedules of our customers and the inconvenience to them and their passengers."
United Airlines said it would immediately comply with the FAA's directive and would begin re-accommodating customers on alternative aircraft.
Follow suit? The FAA said that when it issues an airworthiness directive, it also alerts the international aviation community so that other authorities can take parallel action to cover the fleets operating in their countries.
Leithen Francis, from Aviation Week, said that could mean more bad news for Boeing in the coming days.
"When the FAA issues an airworthiness directive civil aviation and airlines around the world have to follow the FAA airworthiness directive, particularly in regards to the 787 because it a US-designed and developed aircraft," he told the BBC.
In the longer term, he said that airlines considering putting in orders for the 787 may now hold off or choose to increase orders of rival Airbus' A330, a comparable plane.
"The Airbus A330 is a proven product," he said.
Under investigation Late on Wednesday, the FAA said it would work with the manufacturer and carriers on an action plan to allow the US 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible.
"The in-flight Japanese battery incident followed an earlier 787 battery incident that occurred on the ground in Boston on January 7, 2013," the regulator said.
"The AD (airworthiness directive) is prompted by this second incident involving a lithium ion battery."
It said the battery failures resulted in the release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage, and smoke, and the cause of the failures was under investigation.
"These conditions, if not corrected, could result in damage to critical systems and structures, and the potential for fire in the electrical compartment," the FAA said.

 

 

Algeria troops 'in face-off' with militant hostage-takers

 

 Senior al-Qaeda commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar has been identified as the leader behind the attack

Algerian troops have surrounded a gas facility in Algeria, where some 20 foreign workers are being held hostage by Islamist militants, officials say.

The kidnappers killed a Briton and an Algerian after attacking and occupying the complex at In Amenas on Wednesday.
The captives include British, Japanese, US, French and Norwegian nationals.
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kabila said the militants wanted to leave the country with the hostages, but he had refused to let them go.
"We reject all negotiations with the group, which is holding some 20 hostages from several nationalities," he said at a press conference on Wednesday evening.
Mr Kabila added that the kidnappers were Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) before late last year, when he set up his own armed group after apparently falling out with other leaders.

Meanwhile, alleged spokesmen for the militants claim they have kidnapped 41 foreigners. Dozens of Algerian workers are said to have been released.

Border closed Mr Kabila said a heavily armed "terrorist group" of around 20 men had attacked a bus carrying workers from In Amenas at about 05:00 (04:00 GMT).
The gas field is operated by the Algerian state oil company, Sonatrach, along with the British oil company BP and Norway's Statoil.
It is situated about 1,300km (800 miles) south-east of the capital, Algiers, and about 60km (37 miles) west of the Libyan border.
The attackers were repelled by police who had been escorting the bus, but a Briton and an Algerian national had been killed, Mr Kabila said. Two other British nationals, a Norwegian, two police officers and a security guard were also hurt in the fire fight, he added.

Afterwards, the militants drove to the gas facility's living quarters and took a number of Algerian and foreign workers hostage.
They were being held in one wing of the living quarters, which the security services and army had surrounded, Mr Kabila said.
"Since then, they've been facing off. The security forces are consolidating their position around the base," he added.
A worker told France's Le Figaro newspaper the captors had mined the facility and demanded food, water and vehicles.
Mr Kabila said nearby border crossings had been closed as a precaution and that the foreign ministry was in contact with diplomats from the hostages' countries.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed the captives included "a number of British nationals", adding: "This is therefore a very dangerous situation."
He said the UK government was working "around the clock" to resolve the crisis.

Foreign Secretary William Hague: ''This is an extremely dangerous situation''

US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta said he could not confirm the exact number of Americans seized in the attack.
"By all indications this is a terrorist act and the United States strongly condemns these kinds these kinds of terrorist acts," he said.
Meanwhile Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said 13 Norwegian employees of Statoil were believed held hostage at the gas facility. Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore said one of its nationals was a hostage.
Japanese news agencies, citing unnamed government officials, said there were three Japanese hostages.
'Disastrous outcome' Two groups led by Belmokhtar - the Khaled Abu al-Abbas Brigade and the Signed-in Blood Battalion - said they were behind the incident.
Earlier, a man claiming to be a spokesman for the militants told BBC Arabic that al-Qaeda had carried out the attack.

The BBC's Frank Gardner says there has been a spate of profit-driven abductions in the region

He claimed that they had allowed Algerian workers to leave the gas facility and were only holding foreign nationals.
A list of demands had been sent to Algerian authorities, and the hostages would be killed if troops attempted to rescue them, the spokesman added.
''Storming the gas complex would be easy for the Algerian military, but the outcome of such an operation would be disastrous," he warned.
There are conflicting reports about the motives behind the attack.
Earlier the AFP news agency quoted one worker as saying the militants had demanded the release of 100 Islamist prisoners currently detained in Algeria. Another report said they wanted France to end its military operation in Mali.
Militant groups have vowed to avenge France's military intervention in Mali, where its forces have been battling Islamists linked to AQIM for the past week. Algeria has been allowing French aircraft to use its air space.

 

The helicopter crashed and caught fire in central London

The helicopter crashed and caught fire in central London

The city is spread thick smoke

Unmasked operations 'Red October'

Unmasked operations 'Red October'

 The company Kaspersky Lab 'discovered' Red October's surgery, advanced cyber espionage campaign aimed at diplomatic and government institutions around the world.

France military says Mali town Konna 'not recaptured'

 

 Almost 800 French soldiers have arrived in Mali as part of the military operation

 

 

French military officials have denied an earlier claim by the Malian army that the central town of Konna has been recaptured by government forces.

France launched its military intervention last Friday after Islamists seized Konna and began advancing further south.
Another central town, Diabaly, was captured by rebels on Monday.
French and Malian troops were reportedly heading towards the town in preparation for a ground offensive.
In March and April last year, Islamist and secular Tuareg rebels overran the main population centres in northern Mali. Soon the Islamists, some with links to al-Qaeda, took control and imposed a hardline form of Sharia.
While a West African force was being planned with the aim of bringing the north back under the control of the Malian government, the rebels began moving further south.

It was the rebel capture of the strategically important town of Konna last Thursday that prompted France's military intervention.

French warplanes began air strikes against Islamist fighters the next day, and by Saturday a Malian military official said the army had brought Konna back under control, and 100 rebel fighters had been killed.
But French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Paris on Tuesday that the town was not in government hands.
The French aerial campaign had managed to block the rebels who had moved back to an area between Douentza and Gao.
But, he said, "at this time, the town of Konna has still not been recaptured by the Malian armed forces".
BBC Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield says the significance is unclear, but it suggests that the Malian army on the ground does not have the capacity to take advantage of the air support offered by the French.
Heritage site A series of air attacks by French helicopters and fighter planes reportedly sent the rebels fleeing from two of the main northern towns, Gao and Timbuktu. But gunfire was heard outside Timbuktu, a Unesco world heritage site, on Tuesday.

And the Islamists have hit back, seizing the central town of Diabaly on Monday, 350km (220 miles) north-east of the capital, Bamako.

France says 1,700 of its soldiers are involved in the operation to help the Malian military fight back against the Islamists, with almost 800 on the ground in Mali itself.
Defence sources said their numbers were expected to increase to 2,500.
Air strikes were launched on targets in Diabaly on Monday night and news agencies reported that French soldiers were seen heading towards the town in armoured vehicles.
AFP quoted a local government official some distance south as saying that several hundred Malian and French troops were on their way.
RFI radio correspondent Serge Daniel, in Mali, said it was the first time since the start of the operation that French troops had been seen on the ground. "They are with the Malian army, 60km (37 miles) south of Diabaly."
Other reports said French armoured vehicles had been spotted driving north from the capital, Bamako.
A West African force of about 3,300 is also due to start arriving in Mali in the next few days, under a UN Security Council resolution.
The force will be made up of 900 Nigerian soldiers, the first of whom will leave for Bamako on Wednesday, as well as troops from Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Togo.
French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that France had one main aim: "To ensure that when we leave... Mali is safe, has legitimate authorities, an electoral process and there are no more terrorists threatening its territory."

The flare-up in violence has prompted another 30,000 people to be displaced from their homes, according to the UN.

Until this month, some 144,500 Malian refugees had already been registered in neighbouring countries since April 2012.
France's intervention has prompted concerns for the welfare of eight French hostages kidnapped in the area over the past two years.
President Hollande said on Tuesday that "those who have taken them captive should reflect. There's still time to return them to their families".