FAST NEWS: WORLD

Thousands of Syrian refugees flood into Lebanon

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BEIRUT (AP) - Thousands of refugees are fleeing border towns in central Syria where a high-stakes battle is raging, crossing valleys and ridges to reach safety in neighboring Lebanon, witnesses and the U.N. said on Sunday.

They packed into wedding halls
 and drifted into makeshift shacks after escaping the steadily 
intensifying fighting battle that began on Friday, said Bassel Hojeiri, 
former mayor of the border town of Arsal where most of the refugees have
 headed.

A Syrian government offensive in the rugged Qalamoun hills, which 
stretch from Damascus to neighboring Lebanon, seeks to cut rebel supply lines to opposition-held enclaves around the capital.

Activists and analysts say the battle may be the final blow that 
dislodges rebels from the Damascus periphery, where food is running 
short and opposition fighters have lost a series of strongholds in 
recent weeks to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Former Mayor Hojeiri estimated some 10,000 people had fled to Arsal, 
saying an influx of Syrians during the past three years of conflict in 
that country had caused the population to nearly double.

Dana Sleiman of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees put the total number of refugee arrivals over the weekend
 at around 1,000 families. She said many had not registered yet with the
 U.N. and so they could not provide more definite numbers.

The UNHCR s Sleiman said refugees weren t able to reach an official border crossing
 because of the fighting, which began on Friday. Some families were in 
such a hurry that they could not collect any belongings before they 
fled, arriving "without anything except the clothes on their backs," she
 said.

The U.N. was distributing blankets, mattresses, food, nappies and 
hygiene kits to the refugees. She said some were settling into tin shack
 slums that dot the eastern Lebanon Bekaa Valley, and they were being 
offered thick plastic to reinforce their feeble homes against the cold.

Syrian refugees have overwhelmed Lebanon since the uprising began 
three years ago. Lebanese officials estimate there are 1.4 million 
Syrians in the country, including 800,000 registered refugees.

The battle for Qalamoun has been expected for weeks, both government 
and opposition reinforcing their positions in the sector ahead of 
winter, when much of the area is covered with snow.

Activists say one of the main sites of the battle is around the town 
of Qara, which lies near a main highway leading from Damascus to the 
central town of Homs. Controlling the region thus makes it easier to 
assert control over movement down the length of Syria.

On Sunday, two pro-rebel activist groups and the British-based Syrian
 Observatory for Human Rights reported two airstrike hitting the town. 
They said highway was severed and regime forces had gathered on nearby 
hills, trying to cut supplies to rebels inside the city.

Syria s pro-government media vowed the battle would be decisive.

"The army is shaking al-Qalamoun Mountains and has tightened its 
siege around terrorists in Qara," read a front-page article in the 
al-Watan newspaper.

Mortar fire meanwhile hit the center of Damascus, killing two, the Syrian official news agency SANA said.</div>

Thousands of Syrian refugees flood into Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) - Thousands of refugees are fleeing border towns in central Syria where a high- stakes battle is raging , crossing valley...

Flooding sparked by storm kills 31 in Vietnam

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ANOI 
HANOI—Severe floods 
triggered by a short-lived storm have killed at least 31 people and cut 
off traffic in several areas in central Vietnam over the last three 
days, forcing authorities to evacuate tens of thousands of people.

Most of the deaths were due to drowning, as water levels
 rose to nearly three meters in some villages. The government said 
Saturday that floods had killed 13 people in Binh Dinh, seven in Quang 
Ngai and two each in Phu Yen, Quang Nam and Gia Lai provinces.

“Water is everywhere,” said Le Cong Dung, an official with the storm 
department in Quang Nam, where the tourist resort town of Hoi An has 
reported flood water of up to 0.67 meters deep.

Around 1,400 people, including foreign tourists, have been evacuated 
from that area, the government said earlier Saturday, adding that 
authorities have evacuated more than 17,600 people from flood-prone 
areas in five central provinces.

Floods have also inundated tens of thousands of houses and isolated several areas, the government said in a statement.

The storm, named Podul as it approached the coastline of south central Vietnam Thursday night, weakened to a tropical depression
 before making landfall. It triggered heavy rains in Quang Nam, Quang 
Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces, with rainfall ranging 
between 100 millimeters and 300 millimeters, according to the 
government.</div>

Flooding sparked by storm kills 31 in Vietnam

ANOI HANOI —Severe floods triggered by a short-lived storm have killed at least 31 people and cut off traffic in several areas in ce...

Iran, world powers close to nuclear deal: Russia's Lavrov

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MOSCOW: Global powers
 and Iran are close to a preliminary deal to rein in Tehran's nuclear 
programme and should not pass up a "very good chance" to clinch it, 
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks broadcast on 
Saturday. His upbeat comments in a television interview came a 
day after a senior U.S. official said it was possible a deal could be 
reached when negotiators meet in Geneva from Nov. 20. Six nations negotiating with Iran hope the talks can produce an agreement that would be the first step
 towards a comprehensive deal to end a decade-long standoff with Tehran 
and provide assurances it will not build nuclear weapons. "Our common impression is that there is a very good chance that must not be passed up," Lavrov said of a recent discussion with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, when asked whether the Geneva talks could be successful. "The steps that must be taken to defuse the situation and create conditions for a final resolution of the Iranian nuclear problem are clear to both the six nations and Iran," he said in the interview with Moscow-based TV Tsentr. "It is a matter of putting this on paper correctly, accurately and in a mutually respectful way." Ashton
 represents the six global powers seeking to curb Iran's nuclear 
programme - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and 
Germany - in negotiations with Tehran. Talks on Nov. 7-9 produced
 no deal but "confirmed that for the first time in many years both the 
six nations and Tehran are ready not just to present positions that in 
most cases do not intersect, but to find points of intersection," Lavrov
 said. "These points have been determined, and now there are no 
fundamental disagreements on which issues need to be resolved in 
practice," he said, according to a Foreign Ministry transcript of the 
interview. He gave no details. Iran wants relief from U.S., EU and U.N. sanctions imposed for violating U.N. resolutions demanding it halt uranium enrichment and other sensitive nuclear activities that could be used to make weapons. Iran
 denies it wants to develop atomic weapons capability and insists its 
nuclear programme is dedicated exclusively to the peaceful generation of
 electricity and other civilian uses. Russia, which built Iran's first nuclear power plant
 and has much warmer ties with Tehran than the United States does, backs
 Iran's desire for recognition of its right to enrich uranium and 
opposes any additional sanctions. Iran has stopped expanding its uranium enrichment capacity under President Hassan Rouhani, who replaced hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in August, an International Atomic Energy Agency report showed on Thursday. –REUTERS</div>

Iran, world powers close to nuclear deal: Russia's Lavrov

MOSCOW: Global powers and Iran are close to a preliminary deal to rein in Tehran's nuclear programme and should not pass up a ...

Dubai Airshow to open with Gulf spending spree

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DUBAI: Gulf airlines
 are set to place orders worth over $100 billion (62 billion pounds) as 
the Dubai Airshow gets under way on Sunday, industry sources said, led 
by record investment in a new Boeing jet. The birth of a revamped
 successor to Boeing's 777 jet, with some 250 orders booked or in the 
pipeline from four airlines, marks a new step in the growth of Gulf 
airlines and a fierce contest between Boeing and Airbus for their 
business. Boeing is expected to launch the 777X jet with orders 
from the top three Gulf carriers -- Dubai's Emirates, Abu Dhabi's Etihad
 Airways and Qatar Airways -- and Germany's Lufthansa which has already tentatively committed to buy 34 of the planes. Gulf airlines have been expanding rapidly as they seek to take advantage of a strong geographical position connecting East and West. A fifth, Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, could join the programme later, industry experts said, while British Airways has expressed interest in the jet. Boeing's
 top planemaking official pledged not to let a dispute with Seattle 
assembly workers over where the plane should be built interfere with its
 launch, which is expected to be announced on day one of the November 
17-21 show. Boeing is looking for a home for the new jet after 
members of the International Association of Machinists rejected a 
proposed contract that would have seen Boeing commit to keeping the 
latest member of the 777 series near Seattle in exchange for restructured benefits. The Middle East's top business event
 is seen as an opportunity to settle scores among rival Gulf airlines, 
who were seen as jostling for prime-time slots as the show started. It
 is also a showdown between plane bosses who chase each other round the 
globe for new deals and have set up camp this week in the Gulf. Airbus,
 which has a record of springing surprises at air shows, is keen to 
prevent a smooth lift-off for the 777X and is negotiating deals for all 
sizes of its jets including the A380. "Airbus is desperate to blunt the impact of the 777X," said a senior industry source, speaking on condition of anonymity. The
 event is a personal challenge for combative Airbus sales chief John 
Leahy, a New Yorker who is facing a rare defeat at an air show in his 20th year in the job. Leahy
 is especially keen to boost the popularity of the A380 superjumbo, 
which has found no buyers this year and faces a cut in production unless
 empty 2015 production slots can be filled. All
 eyes will be on Emirates which has frequently said it would add another
 30 aircraft to its existing order for 90 superjumbos once it resolves 
capacity constraints in its hub. An industry source said Emirates was in talks to order another 20-25 A380s but that this could rise. "With Leahy in town who knows," the industry official said. Bloomberg
 News reported the Emirates airline was talking to Airbus about a 
purchase of as many as 50 A380s, a record for the jet. Boeing and Airbus declined comment, while Emirates was not immediately available for comment. PILOTS WARNING Boeing's
 777X comes in two models including what will be the world's 
longest-distance passenger jet, a 350-seat model to be known as the 
777-8 once the aircraft has been launched. The larger 777-9 edition, carrying 406 people, will be the main version and be delivered starting 2020. Together,
 the modernized planes call for development of carbon-fibre wings that 
fold at the tips to fit in the same parking spaces and new engines from 
General Electric. Airbus says Boeing has packed in passengers 
densely to make the revamped aircraft's economics work against its own 
all-new 350-seat model, the A350-1000, due to enter service in 2017. It
 has launched a campaign for a minimum standard seat width of 18 inches 
on long trips, aiming to draw attention to what it says will be the 
777's narrower seats. Some airlines have told Airbus that this is their decision and Boeing says many Airbus jets have similar seats. A
 group representing U.S. airline pilots meanwhile warned on Saturday 
that the sale of hundreds of planes to Gulf carriers that compete with 
U.S. carriers would have "serious consequences for the U.S. economy and 
U.S. airline workers." This would create stiff competition for the U.S. 
airline industry. In a reminder of potential defence deals also 
at stake, UK Prime Minister David Cameron visited the site of the show 
on his way back to London from a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka. The United Arab Emirates is weighing whether to buy French Rafale or UK-backed Eurofighter jets. "Get out there and win," Cameron told heads of UK aerospace and defence firms preparing for the show, organizers said. --REUTERS</div>

Dubai Airshow to open with Gulf spending spree

DUBAI: Gulf airlines are set to place orders worth over $100 billion (62 billion pounds) as the Dubai Airshow gets under way on Sund...

Russia offers air defence system to Egypt

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MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia is offering to sell Egypt modern helicopters and air defence
 systems in a landmark deal reportedly worth $2 billion that would mark a
 revival of large-scale military cooperation, a Russian official said 
Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei 
Shoigu visited Egypt on Thursday seeking lucrative contracts with the 
government after the ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Lavrov confirmed that military collaboration was discussed in talks 
between Shoigu and his Egyptian counterpart General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
 but gave no further details.

However Mikhail Zavaly, a senior official with Russia's arms export 
agency Rosoboronexport who will lead its delegation at the upcoming 
Dubai air show, confirmed Russia wanted to sell military hardware to Egypt.

"Now we are offering Egypt modern helicopters, air defence equipment and the modernisation of previously purchased military equipment," he told the RIA Novosti news agency.

"The word is now with our partners," he added.

He did not give further details but Russian daily Vedomosti said 
negotiations were ongoing about the sale of MiG-29M/M2 fighter jets, low
 range air defence systems and Kornet anti-tank rockets.

Citing Russian defence sources, Vedomosti said the deals were worth 
more than $2 billion and could be financed by Saudi Arabia, which was 
instrumental in the removal of Morsi.

The Soviet Union was the main supplier of arms to Egypt in the 1960s 
and early 1970s but cooperation declined after the peace treaty with 
Israel when Cairo began to enjoy generous US aid.

However Washington suspended some of its military aid to Cairo after 
Morsi's ousting and Zavaly confirmed that Moscow had sensed an 
opportunity.

"There is never a vacuum on the international arms market. If one supplier goes away, then another one appears," he told RIA Novosti.</div>

Russia offers air defence system to Egypt

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia is offering to sell Egypt modern helicopters and air defence systems in a landmark deal reportedly worth $2 bil...

Philippines: UN activates satellites to help relief operations

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PARIS (AFP) - The United Nations
 has activated a constellation of satellites to help relief operations 
in the typhoon-ravaged Philippines, an official said on Thursday. 
Catherine Proy of France s National Centre
 for Space Studies (CNES) said the first discussions to activate the 
so-called International Charter on Space and Major Disasters took place 
on November 7, the day before Typhoon Haiyan struck. 
Under the Charter, 15 space agencies or national organisations agree to pool 25 ground-imaging satellites to help relief efforts hampered by a natural catastrophe, such as a storm, earthquake or tsunami. 
Their data can identify roads, bridges or railway lines
 that are passable or structures that are damaged or intact. "The 
charter was activated by the United Nations and its Office for the 
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs," said Proy, whose organisation is part of the Charter group. 
"It was activated almost preventively. The first discussions took 
place on the Thursday, the day before the typhoon crossed the 
Philippines," Proy said in an interview with AFP. "The satellites were 
re-tasked on the Friday, the day when the cyclone hit." 
The UN is an "authorised user" of the Charter, giving it the right to invoke it. 
Once activated, space technicians under a rotating arrangement 
determine which satellites are available and best suited for the job, 
and then send a programme request to the operator for images. 
Satellites take the pictures as they fly over a zone, giving this 
mission a priority over other jobs. The data are usually available 
within 24 hours and are provided for free. 
The maps are put together by UNOSAT, a Geneva-based UN institute that
 specialises in satellite applications, which then disseminates it to aid agencies that request them. 
"Around 10 satellites have been requested, particularly optical satellites," said Proy. 
The first job was to identified undamaged buildings, especially in 
Tacloban, that could be used by relief organisations, she said. 
"We have now moved more towards Cebu and Bogo but there are also 
requests to cover areas that are much, much farther west, on other 
islands," said Proy. "It s very complicated for everyone," she said. 
"The biggest problem is that there is a huge area of destruction. To 
cover it, we need high-resolution images, but these have a limited scale
 of 20 kilometres by 20 kilometres (12 miles by 12 miles). 
"So right now we are only partially mapping the affected areas. We 
are also encountering problems with cloud cover, as it is the middle of 
the cyclone season." 
 
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Philippines: UN activates satellites to help relief operations

PARIS (AFP) - The United Nations has activated a constellation of satellites to help relief operations in the typhoon-ravaged Philippine...

Syria conflict draws rising numbers of German jihadists

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BERLIN:
 German jihadists are heading for Syria in increasing numbers, 
unencumbered by travel formalities and able to integrate quickly into 
foreign militant groups where Arabic is not needed, the head of 
Germany's domestic intelligence said. Hans-Georg Maassen, head of
 the Bundesamt fuer Verfassungsschutz since 2012 (BfV), said 
intelligence officers knew of 220 German citizens fighting in Syria, but
 the actual number could be much higher, and had risen sharply this 
year. "For young people wanting to wage jihad, Syria is very interesting," he said in an interview. "It is easy to get to, you only need an identity card, a flight to Turkey then a domestic flight to the border." "Once
 you are there you can be quickly integrated into brigades, and you can 
fight alongside people with the same language," he told Reuters, noting 
that in the past a lack of language skills particularly among converts had made it difficult for German Islamists to join other wars. Syria's
 2-1/2-year-old conflict began as a wave of peaceful protests against 
four decades of rule by the family of President Bashar al-Assad, but it 
has transformed into a full scale civil war which has cost at least 100,000 lives. The
 BfV wrote in its 2012 annual report that the number of radical Islamist
 Germans heading to Afghanistan or Pakistan had declined sharply as 
those areas were now seen as too risky due to pressure on militants. 
Egypt and Syria by contrast were drawing greater numbers, after strong 
media attention on Syria. Germans travelling to Pakistan and 
Afghanistan required a passport, which German authorities can withdraw 
from people who are considered a potential security hazard. For Turkey, the simple identity card that all Germans carry suffices. Turkey
 has a 900-km (560 mile) border with Syria, which foreign fighters have 
been able to cross undetected in many remote areas. Ankara said last 
month it would build a wall along part of the frontier. Assad is 
from Syria's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, which 
has largely stood behind him. Syria's Sunni Muslim majority has led the 
uprising. Fighters from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the 
Islamic State for Iraq and the Levant, which is heavily comprised of 
foreign jihadists, have also joined the conflict. Last week the head of Britain's domestic intelligence service MI5 said the number of British Islamists fighting in Syria was in the low hundreds. Berlin fears young German Islamists could bring knowledge learned in Syria back home and plan attacks on German soil. Intelligence
 officials estimate there are 4,500 ultra-conservative Salafists active 
in Germany, a tiny proportion of Germany's 4 million Muslims, but which 
grew from 3,800 in 2011. CYBER ATTACKS Turning to the 
recent revelations of mass surveillance of German communications by the 
United States' National Security Agency, Maassen said the affair 
highlighted the need for German business to protect itself against 
industrial espionage. "German firms have long been a target for foreign spy agencies or competitors because of their reputation." German industry, he noted, estimated the damage caused by cyber espionage at an annual 50 billion euros. "I
 think the real amount could be much larger. You also have to take into 
account that some potential contracts might fail because information 
flows to competitors." Maassen threw his support behind a plan by
 Germany's conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD), currently in 
coalition building talks, to make it compulsory for firms in some 
critical industries to report all cyber attacks. "We know there 
were more than 1,000 cyber attacks against the German government last 
year, but we don't know how businesses were attacked. For this we need 
information." 
 
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Syria conflict draws rising numbers of German jihadists

BERLIN: German jihadists are heading for Syria in increasing numbers, unencumbered by travel formalities and able to integrate quickly in...

Philippines: Looting, gunfire break out in typhoon-hit city

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TACLOBAN (AP) - Mobs overran a rice warehouse on the island worst hit
 by the Philippine typhoon, setting off a wall collapse that killed 
eight people and carting off thousands of sacks of the grain, while security forces Wednesday exchanged gunfire with an armed gang.

The incidents in or close to the storm-ravaged city hosting international relief efforts add to concerns about the slow pace of aid distribution and that parts of the disaster zone are descending into chaos.

Five long days after the typhoon wasted the eastern seaboard
 of the Philippines, the cogs of what promises to be a massive 
international aid effort are beginning to turn, but not quickly enough 
for the some 600,000 people displaced, many of them homeless, hungry and
 thirsty.

"There s a bit of a logjam to be absolutely honest getting stuff in 
here," said UN staffer Sebastian Rhodes Stampa against the roar of a 
C-130 transport plane landing behind him at the airstrip in Tacloban, one of the hardest-hit cities.

"It s almost all in country either in Manila or in Cebu, but it s not
 here. We re going to have a real challenge with logistics in terms of getting things
 out of here, into town, out of town, into the other areas," he said. 
"The reason for that essentially is that there are no trucks, the roads 
are all closed."

Planes, ships and trucks were all on their way to the region, loaded with generators, water purifying kits and emergency lights
 vital equipment needed to sustain a major relief mission. Airports were
 reopening in the region, and the US military said it was installing 
equipment to allow the damaged Tacloban aiport to operate 24-7.

Tacloban s mayor, Alfred Romualdez, urged residents to flee the city because local authorities
 were having trouble providing food and water and maintaining order, The
 New York Times reported. He said the city was in desperate need of 
trucks to distribute relief shipments that were accumulating at the 
city s airport as well as equipment to pull decaying corpses from the 
rubble.

Eight people were crushed to death when the mob stormed a rice 
warehouse around 24 kilometers (15 miles) from Tacloban on Tuesday and 
carried off thousands of sacks of grain, according to National Food 
Authority spokesman Rex Estoperez.

On Wednesday, gunfire broke out close to the city s San Juanico 
bridge on Wednesday between security forces and armed men, but the 
circumstances were unclear, according to footage on local TV.

Since the storm, people have broken into homes, malls and garages, 
where they have stripped the shelves of food, water and other goods. 
Authorities have struggled to stop the looting. There have been 
unconfirmed reports of armed gangs of robbers operating in a systematic 
manner, but they have not been confirmed.

An 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew was in place across the region. Despite incidents, police said the situation was improving. 
"We have restored order," said Carmelo Espina Valmoria, director of the 
Philippine National Police special action force. "There has been looting
 for the last three days, but the situation has stabilized."

The death toll rose to 2,275, according a national tally kept by the 
disaster agency. That figure is expected to rise, perhaps significantly,
 when accurate information is collected from the entirety of the 
disaster zone, which spreads over a wide swath of the eastern and 
central Philippines but appears to be concentrated on two main islands, 
Leyte and Samar.

The congressman for Eastern Samar province, a coastal region that 
bore the full force of the storm, said 211 had been killed there and 45 
were missing. He said some villages have been wiped out, with 
practically no structures standing. In one town, bodies remain lying on 
the road because help has not come to retrieve or bury them. Other towns
 have conducted mass burials.

"The situation there was horrible," Ben Evardone told a local 
television station. "Some communities disappeared, entire villages were 
wiped out. They were shouting  food, food, food!  when they saw me."

US Brig Gen. Paul Kennedy promised a response akin to the widely 
praised US military one after the 2004 Asian tsunami, when fleets of 
helicopters dropped water and food to hundreds of isolated communities 
along the coast. 
"You are not just going to see Marines and a few planes and some 
helicopters," Kennedy said. "You will see the entire Pacific Command 
respond to this crisis."

A Norwegian ship carrying supplies left from Manila, while an 
Australian air force transport plane took off from Canberra carrying a 
medical team. British and American navy vessels are also en route to the
 region.

At the Tacloban airport, makeshift clinics have been set up and 
thousands of people were waiting for a flight out. A doctor said 
supplies of antibiotics and anesthetics arrived Tuesday for the first 
time.

"Until then, patients had to endure the pain," said Dr. Victoriano Sambale.

Relief officials said comparing the pace of this operation to those 
in past disasters was largely pointless because each posed unique 
challenges.

In Indonesia s Aceh, the worst-hit region by the 2004 tsunami, relief
 hubs were easier to set up than in Tacloban. The main airport there was
 functioning 24-7 within a couple of days of the disaster.

While devastation in much of the city of Banda Aceh was total, large 
inland parts of the city were undamaged, providing a base for aid 
operations and temporary accommodation for the homeless. 
 
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Philippines: Looting, gunfire break out in typhoon-hit city

TACLOBAN (AP) - Mobs overran a rice warehouse on the island worst hit by the Philippine typhoon, setting off a wall collapse that killed ...

Iraq violence claims more 18 lives

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - A series of coordinated bombings targeting
 Shiite pilgrims ahead of major commemoration rituals were the deadliest
 in attacks across north and west Iraq that killed 18 people on 
Wednesday.

The bloodshed is the latest in a months-long surge in violence that 
authorities have so far failed to stem despite several operations 
against insurgents, and have forced Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to appeal for help from Washington in combating militancy.

Wednesday's violence came on the eve of annual ceremonies marking the
 anniversary of the death of a key figure in Shiite Islam, a period 
during which Sunni militants typically step up attacks on Shiites, whom 
they regard as apostates.

The deadliest unrest was on
 the outskirts of Baquba, which lies north of Baghdad and is one of 
Iraq's most violent areas, with three coordinating bombings targeting a 
gathering of Shiite pilgrims marking Ashura.

The blasts killed at least eight people and wounded 25, security and medical officials said.

In the days leading up to the climax of Ashura, which this year falls
 on Thursday, Shiite Muslims often set up procession tents where food is
 distributed to passers-by and pilgrims can gather.

Other worshippers walk to Karbala, which is home to a shrine to Imam 
Hussein, whose death in 680 AD at the hands of the caliph Yazid has over
 time come to mark the symbolic split between Islam's Sunni and Shiite 
sects.

Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda, who regard Shiite Muslims as 
unbelievers, often step up their targeting of Iraq's majority community 
during Ashura and the subsequent rituals of Arbaeen.

Violence elsewhere in Iraq on Wednesday killed 10 people and police also gunned down three militants, officials said.

East of the predominantly Sunni Arab town of Tikrit, a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle rigged with explosives at a police checkpoint, killing six people -- three policemen and three civilians.

And near the former insurgent bastion of Fallujah, two bombs 
targeting the homes of policemen, followed by a third that went off as 
onlookers gathered at the scene, killed four people and wounded a dozen 
more overall.

A police raid in the Jazeera desert region in northwest Iraq, 
meanwhile, led to three militants being killed. Four policemen were also
 wounded in the operation.

Wednesday's deaths were the latest in Iraq's worst violence since 
2008, with more than 5,600 people killed this year despite tightened 
security measures and a swathe of operations against militants.

Maliki has called for help from the United States in the form of 
intelligence-sharing and the delivery of new weapons systems in an 
effort to deal with the unrest.

Turkey's foreign minister offered Ankara's assistance during a recent visit to Baghdad.

In addition to major security problems, authorities have failed to 
provide adequate basic services such as electricity and clean water, and
 corruption is widespread.

Political squabbling has paralysed the government, while parliament has passed almost no major legislation in years. 
 
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Iraq violence claims more 18 lives

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A series of coordinated bombings targeting Shiite pilgrims ahead of major commemoration rituals were the deadliest in a...

India Mars mission back on track after engine glitch

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's Mars spacecraft was "successfully" raised 
into a higher orbit around Earth early on Tuesday, after a brief engine 
failure during an earlier attempt, the space agency said. 
The Mars Orbiter Mission, which blasted off on November 5 for a 
11-month trip to the Red Planet, is being launched on its way via an 
unusual "slingshot" method for interplanetary journeys. 
Lacking a large enough rocket to blast directly out of Earth's 
atmosphere and gravitational pull, the Indian spacecraft is orbiting 
Earth until the end of the month while building up enough velocity to 
break free. 
On Tuesday, the spacecraft completed a fourth repositioning to take 
it 100,000 kilometres (62,000 miles) from Earth, after the thruster 
engines failed during an attempt on Monday, leading the auto-pilot to 
take over. 
"Fourth supplementary orbit raising manoeuvre of Mars Orbiter 
Spacecraft... has been successfully completed," the Indian Space 
Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement. 
The first three manoeuvres, which involve firing additional fuel into
 the rocket's engine, were successfully performed last week. 
The ISRO said the brief engine failure on Monday was not a setback to the ambitious low-cost mission. 
India has never before attempted interplanetary travel and more than 
half of all missions to Mars have ended in failure, including China's in
 2011 and Japan's in 2003. 
The cost of the project, at 4.5 billion rupees ($73 million), is less
 than a sixth of the $455 million earmarked for a Mars probe by NASA 
which will launch later this month. 
ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan has called the mission a "turning 
point" for India's space ambitions and one which would go on to prove 
its capabilities in rocket technology. 
 
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India Mars mission back on track after engine glitch

NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's Mars spacecraft was "successfully" raised into a higher orbit around Earth early on Tuesday, after...

Dark Knight Rises: Batman jailed for theft and drug abuse

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SINGAPORE:
 A Singaporean man with an unusual superhero-like name turned out to be a
 villain who consumed drugs and stole from his brother. Batman 
bin Suparman, which means Batman son of Suparman in the Malay language, 
was jailed on Monday for two years and nine months for various offences 
including stealing his brother's automated teller machine card to make 
withdrawals, media reported. The 23-year-old unemployed man had also broken into the office of a firm in western Singapore to steal money and taken heroin. Batman,
 who has his own fan club on Facebook, became a social media sensation 
after an image of his identity card with his unusual name was circulated
 online. – Reuters 
 
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Dark Knight Rises: Batman jailed for theft and drug abuse

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man with an unusual superhero-like name turned out to be a villain who consumed drugs and stole from his brother...

Cyber attack "war game" to test London banks

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LONDON:
 Thousands of staff across dozens of London's financial firms will be 
put through a "war game" scenario on Tuesday to test how well they can 
handle a major cyber attack. In one of the largest exercises of 
its kind in the world, the test dubbed "Waking Shark II" will bombard 
firms with a series of announcements and scenarios, such as a major 
attack on computer systems hitting stock exchanges and unfolding on 
social media. It will be co-ordinated from a single room housing 
regulators, government officials and staff from banks and other 
financial firms, people familiar with the matter said. Hundreds more people are expected to be involved from their own offices as the exercise plays out, they said. Simulations
 are likely to include how banks ensure the availability of cash from 
ATM machines or deal with a liquidity squeeze in the wholesale market 
and how well firms communicate and coordinate with authorities and each 
other. There will be a particular focus on investment banking operations, one of the sources said. Regulators
 and companies are growing increasingly concerned about the threat of 
cyber crime to the banking system, including the impact of coordinated 
online assaults or hacking attacks on specific banks. The Bank of 
England's Financial Policy Committee has already told banks to 
strengthen their defences. The London event will be co-ordinated 
by the Bank of England, the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority
 and follows a similar exercise two years ago. London is not 
alone in testing its preparation. New York staged "Quantum Dawn 2" a few
 months ago to simulate how firms would cope with a cyber attack in 
markets. - REUTERS 
 
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Cyber attack "war game" to test London banks

LONDON: Thousands of staff across dozens of London's financial firms will be put through a "war game" scenario on Tuesday t...

Egypt: Drive-by shooting kills 2 soldiers

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CAIRO (AP) Egypt s state news agency says a drive-by shooting on a 
desert road in the country s north has killed two soldiers and wounded 
three.

Monday s report by MENA says the attack took place on the road to the
 Suez Canal city of Ismailia, when gunmen from a speeding car opened 
fire at a military checkpoint on Sunday evening.

A similar checkpoint attack last week in Ismailia also killed two 
soldiers. The city is 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of the Egyptian 
capital, Cairo.

A militant group calling itself Ansar Beit al-Maqdis Arabic for 
Partisans of Jerusalem has been active in the area, attacking military 
and police targets. The group also claimed responsibility for last 
month s bombing of a military intelligence compound in Ismailia. 
 
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Egypt: Drive-by shooting kills 2 soldiers

CAIRO (AP) Egypt s state news agency says a drive-by shooting on a desert road in the country s north has killed two soldiers and wounded ...

Greek govt wins vote, gets majority cut by 1 seat

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ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece s coalition government won a confidence 
vote Monday called by the left-wing opposition but saw its parliamentary
 majority cut by one seat.

Socialist deputy Theodora Tzakri was expelled from the party after 
refusing to back Conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras  
15-month-old government in the vote held in the 300-seat parliament 
early Monday.

Samaras saw his support cut to 154 deputies, just three above the minimum required, after Tzakri was declared an independent.

Samaras formed the coalition after the June 2012 election and has 
pushed through unpopular austerity measures demanded by international 
lenders in return for the country s 240 billion-euro ($322-billion) 
bailout.

Tzakri, a 43-year-old former deputy interior minister, accused the 
government of planning deeper austerity cuts in a country that is 
already reeling from unemployment, job cuts and higher taxes.

"The Greek people are being wiped out by constant cuts and taxes, 
prospects of growth are being put off, and the government s only concern
 is how it will sell another round of taxes and cuts to the public," 
Tzakri said in a statement.

The government is currently in talks with bailout inspectors to try 
and reach a deal on long-term spending cuts ahead of a Nov. 21 deadline 
for submitting the 2014 budget to parliament.

The government won the no-confidence vote Monday 153-124 after Tzakri
 abstained and a conservative lawmaker was absent, citing illness. 
 
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Greek govt wins vote, gets majority cut by 1 seat

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece s coalition government won a confidence vote Monday called by the left-wing opposition but saw its parliament...

Iran rejects nuclear deal: Kerry

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ABU DHABI (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that 
the major powers were unified on an Iran nuclear deal during weekend 
talks in Geneva but the Iranians were unable to accept it. He also said 
critics of the diplomatic effort should withhold their comments until a 
deal is reached.

Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi, Kerry said the United States and 
its negotiating partners were unified when the proposal was presented to
 the Iranians.

"The French signed off on it, we signed off on it," Kerry said.

Earlier reports said that the talks came apart because France refused
 to accept the deal with Iran. On Monday, Kerry said the major powers 
reached an agreement after a marathon bargaining session but Iran wasn t
 able to accept the deal "at that particular moment."

"There was unity but Iran couldn t take it," he said.

Kerry also said that that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s
 rejection of a deal to limit Iran s nuclear ambitions was premature. 
"The time to oppose it is when you see what it is, not to oppose the effort to find out what is possible," Kerry said.

Netanyahu has repeatedly criticized what he considers readiness by 
the six powers involved in the talks to be too generous to Iran and has 
aggressively campaigned against an agreement.

But Kerry reasserted the U.S. commitment to Israel, saying the United States would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear bomb.

President Barack Obama, Kerry said, "does what he says," citing the 
killing of Osama bin Laden and getting American troops out of the wars 
in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"So believe us on Iran," he said. "He will not bluff."

Kerry said the U.S. has "been meeting constantly" with the Israelis 
to understand the progress Iran has made in its nuclear program. "We are
 confident that what we are doing can actually protect Israel more 
effectively and provide greater security," he said.

Kerry said there is no "end game" in motion and the Geneva talks were a first step in longer process of possible give and take.

Tehran has been eager to reach an agreement to ease international 
sanctions that have halted most oil exports and crippled the county s 
economy.

But a key stumbling block has been Iran s insistence that the 
international community recognize its "right" to enrich uranium as a 
signer of a U.N. treaty governing the spread of nuclear technology also 
frequently pointing out that Israel has not signed the accord. Kerry s 
comments challenge the Iranian view, but do not appear to significantly 
alter the currently Western effort that seeks to curb Iran s ability to 
make its highest-enrich uranium but possibly leaving intact the 
country s production of lower-level nuclear fuel.

Iran s highest enrichment level, at 20 percent, is still below the 
more than 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material, but experts say 
the process could be done at a rapid pace. Iran insists that its nuclear
 program is solely for peaceful purposes and that it has no plans to 
produce a nuclear weapon.

Iran says the 20 percent material is needed for its research reactor,
 which makes medical isotopes for cancer treatment and other 
applications. Iran also produces lower level nuclear fuel for its 
energy-producing reactor, which requires 3.5 percent enriched uranium.

Iranian state TV reported Monday that an agreement for expanded 
monitoring had been reached in talks with the U.N. nuclear chief in a 
deal that could boost wider negotiations over Tehran s atomic program.

Abu Dhabi was Kerry s final stop on a lengthy visit to the Middle 
East. He interrupted his tour on Friday to rush to Switzerland to take 
part in the weekend negotiations with Iran. He was expected back in 
Washington late Monday. 
 
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Iran rejects nuclear deal: Kerry

ABU DHABI (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the major powers were unified on an Iran nuclear deal during weekend ...

Five killed in Iraq attacks, two dead bodies found

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - Attacks north of Baghdad killed five people on 
Monday, officials said, while police found two corpses bearing signs of 
torture, a scene reminiscent of the country s all-out sectarian war.

The violence comes ahead of annual Shiite Muslim religious 
commemorations, when Sunni militants often mount attacks, and as Iraq 
grapples with continuing bloodshed despite wide-ranging operations 
targeting insurgents and tightened security.

The spike in unrest has spurred Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to 
appeal for greater cooperation with the United States in combatting 
militancy, and on Sunday Turkey offered to help as well.

In the northern city of Mosul, three separate shootings killed one 
soldier, wounded another and left two civilians dead, police and medical
 officials said.

Near the University of Mosul, a taxi driver was killed when a magnetic "sticky" bomb was attached to his car.

Elsewhere in the city, police found the body of a soldier in the 
Tigris river. The soldier had been kidnapped the previous day, and had 
suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, execution-style, and his 
body bore signs of torture.

In Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad, police found another corpse
 bearing signs of torture, including some fingers having been cut off.

During the worst of Iraq s Sunni-Shiite sectarian war in 2006 and 
2007 bodies were regularly found in major rivers and along main roads, 
bearing signs of torture.

Meanwhile in the restive Diyala province, gunmen assassinated a local
 official from the Ministry of Water Resources. The bloodshed is part of
 the country s worst unrest since 2008.

In addition to major security problems, authorities have failed to 
provide adequate basic services such as electricity and clean water, and
 corruption is widespread.

Political squabbling has paralysed the government, while parliament has passed almost no major legislation in years. 
 
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Five killed in Iraq attacks, two dead bodies found

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Attacks north of Baghdad killed five people on Monday, officials said, while police found two corpses bearing signs of to...

More time needed on Iran nuclear deal: diplomat

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BRUSSELS (AFP) - Talks between global powers and Iran that broke up 
this weekend without a deal on Tehran s disputed nuclear drive were 
"definitely no failure", a senior Western diplomat familiar with the 
issue said Monday.

There was "no breakthrough yet but definitely no failure," said the 
diplomat on condition of anonymity, speaking after the negotiations 
between Iran and P5+1 powers -- Britain, France, the United States, 
Russia and China plus Germany.

"The collective assessment of the group was that some more time would
 still be needed; that was not just the assessment of the French," the 
source added, referring to reports in some quarters blaming France for 
holding up a deal.

The talks were "very intensive, very complex, very detailed and 
constructive," the diplomat added, saying that an agreement to return to
 the negotiating table as early as next week "shows how serious we 
are." It was "crucial to keep momentum," the source said.

In the latest marathon round of the years-long talks, hopes of 
finally reaching a deal soared after foreign ministers from the P5+1 
powers rushed to the Swiss city to join the meeting at the weekend.

When it ended inconclusively some laid the blame on France, whose 
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius raised concerns over a heavy water 
reactor being built at Arak, an issue which was introduced into the 
negotiations recently by global powers.

At least a year from being completed, the Arak reactor is a source of
 concern for Western powers who fear the plutonium it will produce as a 
by-product could provide Iran with a second route for making fissile 
material for an atom bomb.

Iran says it solely wants to produce isotopes for medical and agricultural purposes.

The other source of concern is Tehran s enrichment of uranium to 20 
percent, a few technical steps away from making weapons-grade matter.

Global powers want to see a freeze in Iran s nuclear programme in 
return for lifting some of the sanctions they say are biting hard into 
the country s economy.

Speaking Monday in Abu Dhabi, US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Iran of walking away from a deal at the Geneva talks.

"The P5+1 was unified on Saturday when we presented our proposal to 
the Iranians... But Iran couldn t take it, at that particular moment 
they weren t able to accept," said Kerry. 
 
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More time needed on Iran nuclear deal: diplomat

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Talks between global powers and Iran that broke up this weekend without a deal on Tehran s disputed nuclear drive were ...

World sends emergency aid to Philippine

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MANILA (AFP) - The United States, Australia and the United Nations 
are mobilising emergency aid to the Philippines as the scale of the 
devastation unleashed by Super Typhoon Haiyan emerges.

The Pentagon is sending military personnel and equipment to assist 
with the relief effort following the typhoon, which may have killed more
 than 10,000 people in what is feared to be the country s worst natural 
disaster.

"The United States is already providing significant humanitarian 
assistance, and we stand ready to further assist the government s relief
 and recovery efforts," US President Barack Obama said in a statement.

Some 90 Marines and sailors, and two KC-130J Hercules aircraft, left 
Japan for the Philippines on Saturday, with equipment including 
tilt-rotor aircraft which can operate without runways, Marines Colonel 
John Peck said.

The Australian government pledged Aus$10 million dollars (US$9.38 
million), with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop describing the unfolding 
tragedy as "absolutely devastating" and on a "massive scale".

The sum includes Aus$4 million towards a UN global appeal and Aus$3 
million for Australian non-government organisations. The aid will 
include tarpaulins, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, water containers and 
health and hygiene kits.

A team of Australian medics will leave on Wednesday via a C17 
military transport plane from Darwin to join disaster experts already on
 the ground, the government said, after it disbursed emergency funds 
worth US$490,000 on Sunday.

Philippine rescue teams were said to be overwhelmed in their efforts 
to help those whose homes and livelihoods were destroyed after Haiyan 
ravaged large swathes of the archipelago Friday.

Officials were struggling to cope with the scale of death and 
destruction, with reports of violent looters and scarcity of food, 
drinking water and shelter.

United Nations leader Ban Ki-moon promised UN humanitarian agencies would "respond rapidly to help people in need".

The UN children s fund UNICEF said a cargo plane carrying 60 tonnes 
of aid including shelters and medicine would arrive in the Philippines 
Tuesday, to be followed by deliveries of water purification and 
sanitation equipment.

Pope Francis led 60,000 people in Sunday prayers for the Philippines,
 urging the faithful to provide "concrete help" to the largely Roman 
Catholic country.

"Sadly, there are many, many victims and the damage is huge," he said.

Other aid mobilised for the Philippines includes:

-- The European Commission said it would give three million euros ($4 million) towards the relief efforts.

-- Britain offered an emergency support package worth $9.6 million. 
Germany s embassy in Manila said an initial shipment of 23 tonnes of aid
 was being flown in and German rescue teams were already at work.

-- Like Australia, New Zealand also increased its humanitarian relief
 on Monday, bringing its total to NZ$2.15 million (US$1.78 million), 
while Canada has promised up to US$5 million to aid organisations.

-- Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said it was 
sending 200 tonnes of aid including medicine, tents and hygiene kits to 
arrive mid-week, with the first cargo plane leaving from Dubai on Monday
 and another from Belgium on Tuesday.

-- Taiwan s government pledged immediate cash aid of US$200,000 and the Singapore government donated US$40,000.

-- Oxfam, the British-based relief organisation, said it has sent an assessment team ahead of aid operations. 
 
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World sends emergency aid to Philippine

MANILA (AFP) - The United States, Australia and the United Nations are mobilising emergency aid to the Philippines as the scale of the de...

Some facts about the Philippines and its people

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MANILA (Associated Press) Thousands of people are believed dead after
 Typhoon Haiyan battered the central Philippines with sustained winds of
 235 kph (147 mph) and a storm surge of 6 meters (20 feet). Here are 
some facts about Philippines:

GEOGRAPHY: More than 7,100 islands are spread over 116,000 square 
miles a bit more territory than Arizona between the far western Pacific 
and the South China Sea.

DEMOGRAPHICS: It has 100 million people, 12th globally between Mexico
 and Ethiopia, and they are young. The median Filipino half older, half 
younger is 23 years old, compared with 37 in the United States. More 
than 80 percent are Catholic, and 5 percent are Muslim.

Literacy is high: More than 95 percent of the population age 15 and 
older can read and write. Average life expectancy at birth is 69 for men
 and 75 for women.

POLITICS: The former Spanish and later American colony has been 
independent since July 4, 1946. It is a democracy with an elected 
president and a Congress comprising a House of Representatives and a 
Senate. The capital is Manila. The country spent nine years under 
martial law during the dictatorial reign of President Ferdinand Marcos, 
who was ousted in the non-violent "People Power" uprising of 1986. The 
country has struggled with a communist insurgency and a rebellion in the
 southern region of Mindanao, where Muslims seek autonomy or 
independence.

TIES TO AMERICA: In 1898, the United States seized the Philippines 
from Spain in the Spanish-American War. Filipinos rose up in rebellion 
against American rule from 1899 to 1902. Some of the bloodiest fighting 
took place on the island of Samar, which was hit hard by Typhoon Haiyan.
 Since independence, the Philippines has maintained close ties to the 
United States. More than 1.8 million Philippine-born people live in 
America. They account for nearly 16 percent of Asian-born American 
residents, behind only China and India.

ECONOMY: The Philippine economy grew 6.8 percent last year, second to
 China among major Asian economies, and is expected to match that pace 
this year. The Philippines last year had a $431 billon economy, No. 32 
in the world, measured by gross domestic product. Its GDP per person was
 about $4,500, No. 165 in the world. The economy benefits from money 
sent home by 4 million to 5 million Filipinos working overseas. It 
suffers from pockets of poverty and from endemic corruption: It scores 
34 out of 100 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions 
Index, which measures the perceived level of government corruption; a 
score of 100 indicates that the government is seen as clean. The 
Philippines ranked far below average, 105th out of 174 countries ranked.

Sources: CIA World Factbook, U.S. State Department, U.S. Census 
Bureau, International Monetary Fund, Transparency International, World 
Bank. 
 
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Some facts about the Philippines and its people

MANILA (Associated Press) Thousands of people are believed dead after Typhoon Haiyan battered the central Philippines with sustained winds...