Maria: Bulgaria Seeks Greece Roma Girl's Return

Bulgaria is to ask the Greek authorities to hand over a young girl who was found in a Roma camp in Greece.

Four-year-old Maria made global headlines when she was found living with a Roma couple - who were not her real parents - in the Greek town of Farsala this month.

DNA tests last week confirmed a Bulgarian couple, Sashka and Atanas Ruseva, were the blonde youngster's biological parents.

The pair, who have nine other children, five of whom are also blonde, live in a ghetto in the central town of Nikolaevo.

Sashka Ruseva, Maria's biological mother, who denies selling her in Greece

Mrs Ruseva, who is under investigation for allegedly selling Maria in 2009, has said she gave birth to a baby girl four years ago in Greece while working as an olive picker.

She has admitted giving the child away because she was too poor to care for her, but has denied she took any money for her, and has said she wanted to take the girl back.

The Greek Roma couple, who have been charged with abducting Maria and procuring false documents relating to the girl's birth certificate, have also said they want to keep her.

The pair, named locally as Hristos Salis, 39, and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, 40, deny the charges.

Bulgaria's child protection agency said on Tuesday that it would "undertake the necessary actions for the return of Maria ... who was indisputably proven to be the child of Sashka and Atanas Ruseva".

Maria was found living with Hristos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou

However, she is unlikely to rejoin her poverty-stricken family if she is sent back to Bulgaria and will instead be placed in a crisis centre or in foster care.

"Maria will remain there until a solution is found for her upbringing - a return to the biological family, or placement with relatives, in foster care or in a social institution," the agency said.

The agency also ordered a review of the conditions under which Maria's seven younger siblings were raised, with a view to taking protective measures if necessary.

Maria is currently in the care of Athens-based charity Smile of the Child.

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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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Human Remains Found At Water Plant Near LA

Authorities are trying to determine the identity of a woman whose torso was found at a water reclamation plant near Los Angeles.

The gruesome discovery was made by maintenance workers on Monday in Bassett, about 20 miles east of downtown LA.

The coroner will try to establish the age, sex and identity of the woman, who may have been Hispanic according to local reports.

"Anything that comes into this water plant must move through a 17-inch line before going through a centrifugal pump," Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Homicide Lt. Mike Rosson, was quoted as saying.

"So you can imagine what kind of damage to a person's body would happen."

It was the second time in three days that human remains had been discovered, and authorities are trying to determine whether they belong to the same person.

On Saturday, a human foot and calf were found at a county water pollution control plant in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson.

The Sheriff's Department said those remains were found in a bin holding debris separated from sewage water.

The two plants are connected, according to sanitation officials.

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Spurs Fan Stabbed In Rome: Two Men Jailed

Two Italian football hooligans have been jailed for launching a brutal assault on Tottenham Hotspur supporters, including one who suffered a near-fatal stabbing.

The English fans were drinking peacefully at a pub in the centre of Rome last November before a Europa League match against Lazio when thugs launched what police described in court as a well-planned "urban guerrilla warfare" operation using smoke bombs and tear gas to help "neutralise" their victims.

The Italian gang tore through the Drunken Ship pub in the Campo de Fiori piazza, smashing windows and attacking fans with knives, iron bars and even ripped-off chair legs, the court heard.

Thirteen people were injured, including Ashley Mills, from Brentwood, Essex, who suffered massive blood loss when one hooligan plunged a knife into his thigh.

He was taken to hospital where doctors fought to rebuild his femoral artery.

The raid caused an estimated 18,000 euros (£15,400) damage to the pub

Mr Mills described at the time how the mob "came out of nowhere".

"I was standing outside the bar drinking, and the next thing I know there are loads of them. It happened very quickly, I don't remember much. I remember being pulled out, along the ground, after I had been stabbed," he said.

Mr Mills, who grew up in Tottenham, north London, had travelled to the game with his brother Bradley Mills, a 30-year-old interior designer, who was in the bar and was also injured.

On Monday, a Rome judge sentenced Francesco Ianari, 27, to four years and five months in prison, and Mauro Pinnelli, 26, to five years and six months in jail, for assaulting 12 of the 13 people injured.

Both fans of Rome side AS Roma, they formed part of a larger group of 20 who took part in the raid.

Ianari, a door-to-door salesman who has previously been banned from attending football matches, and Pinnelli, a builder, were arrested on the night of the attack after they were spotted behaving suspiciously near the pub.

People peer inside the venue the morning after the attack last November

Hardcore "Ultra" fans of another Rome team, Lazio, were initially accused of organising the raid.

Some Lazio fans were accused of singing anti-Semitic chants at the match against Spurs the night after the attack, boosting suspicions the attack was linked to the London team's Jewish heritage.

But the court heard that Roma fans first spotted the Spurs fans drinking at the pub and then called on Lazio fans they knew to join them, suggesting thugs from the two traditional rivals have forged a violent alliance.

Damage to the pub was estimated at 18,000 euros (£15,400).

In February, police said they had identified nine others suspected of taking part in the violence, and took three men into custody, including two Lazio fans.

They have since been release and have been banned from attending Lazio matches.

Police used CCTV footage to build their case as well as bringing in anti-terrorism police who used mobile phone records to identify the assailants and track their movements on the night.

Officers concluded that the gang first put the bar under surveillance then gathered in nearby Piazza Navona to plan the raid.

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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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Obama May Ban Spying On Allied Leaders

The Obama administration is considering whether to end spying on the leaders of American allies, amid a diplomatic crisis with European countries over the US snooping operations.

News reports said a final decision had not yet been made, but the move was under review.

The row over widespread spying by the National Security Agency has deepened in recent weeks with revelations that the communications of German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been monitored.

Claims that millions of emails, calls and other communications had been monitored in France, Spain and Italy - like Germany, all US allies - have prompted outrage.

France, Germany and Spain have summoned the US ambassadors in their countries, and Paris and Berlin are also seeking to hold talks with Washington by the end of the year to restore trust.

In a television interview, Barack Obama said that surveillance operations were being reassessed to make sure the NSA's growing technical capabilities would not mean overstepping boundaries.

The spying revelations have prompted protests in the US and abroad

"We give them policy direction," the president told Fusion, a new cable channel from ABC News and Univision.

"But what we've seen over the last several years is their capacities continue to develop and expand, and that's why I'm initiating now a review to make sure that what they're able to do, doesn't necessarily mean what they should be doing."

However, Mr Obama did not confirm the reports that Ms Merkel's cell phone had been tapped.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that "a total review of all intelligence programmes is necessary".

"Unless the United States is engaged in hostilities against a country or there is an emergency need for this type of surveillance, I do not believe the United States should be collecting phone calls or emails of friendly presidents and prime ministers," the senator said in a statement.

"The White House has informed me that collection on our allies will not continue."

Later today, top officials including NSA Director General Keith Alexander and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will testify at an open hearing of the House Intelligence Committee.

Angela Merkel called Mr Obama to demand a clarification

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

The US has charged Snowden, who has sought refuge in Russia, with crimes including espionage. To his supporters, the 30-year-old is a human rights champion.

Based on his most recent leaks, reports have said the NSA monitored 34 other foreign leaders in addition to Merkel.

European Union officials on a visit to Washington said US surveillance of their people could affect negotiations over a US-Europe trade agreement. They said European privacy must be better protected.

Meanwhile, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, the Republican who co-authored the US Patriot Act, has said he is preparing to unveil bipartisan legislation that would dramatically curtail the domestic surveillance powers it gives to intelligence agencies.

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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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White Extremist Jailed For Mandela Death Plot

The mastermind behind a white supremacist plot to assassinate Nelson Mandela and drive blacks out of South Africa has been jailed for 35 years after a decade-long trial.

Mike du Toit, a former lecturer at a segregated apartheid-era university, was convicted of high treason in July last year.

He recruited supporters from among hardline white Afrikaners for his far-right "Boeremag", or Boer Force.

It planned to violently overthrow the government and return the country to white-only rule.

The group also claimed responsibility for a series of bombs that killed a woman and caused damage throughout the South African township of Soweto in 2002.

The trial heard du Toit had written a "blueprint" for revolution - known as Document 12 - to evict black people from South Africa.

The document was found on his computer after police raided his home in October 2011.

The court also heard du Toit discussed carrying out bomb attacks during meetings with co-plotters at barbecues and fast food outlets.

Plans included destroying a major dam, shooting down an aircraft and assassinating Mr Mandela.

Du Toit was one of 20 plotters sentenced at the High Court in Pretoria.

State media reported that the jail terms handed out by Judge Eben Jordaan ranged from five to 35 years.

The trial is believed to have been the most expensive in South Africa's legal history, costing the taxpayer 36m rand (£2.2m), according to state broadcaster SABC.

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Phone Saves Man From Robber's Bullet

A gas station clerk in Florida has been saved from a robber's bullet by his cell phone.

The suspect fled the scene. Pic: Winter Garden Police Department

The clerk had just minor injuries after a robber fired a bullet at his abdomen, Winter Garden Police said.

The man did not realise the bullet had been stopped by the phone until he pulled the device out of his shirt pocket.

The attempted robbery took place on Monday afternoon in Winter Garden, a suburb of Orlando.

A man entered the Hess gas station and asked a clerk for help.

He then showed the worker a revolver and demanded that he open the safe.

When the clerk could not open the safe, the robber ordered a second clerk to try. He was also unsuccessful.

The suspect fired a round at one of the clerks and fled.

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Syria Polio: Call For 'Vaccination Ceasefire'

The first cases of polio in 14 years have been confirmed in Syria, prompting calls for fighting to be halted to allow children at risk to be vaccinated.

Ten cases of the disease - which has been reduced by 99% since 1988 due to a global eradication programme - have been discovered in the northeast and 12 more people are thought to be displaying polio symptoms.

The confirmed cases are among babies and toddlers who were "under-immunised", said World Health Organisation spokesman Oliver Rosenbauer.

He said the risk was high of it spreading across the region.

Save the Children said truces were needed to allow immunisation teams to reach children and prevent an epidemic of the disease, which can cause paralysis and death.

"Vaccination ceasefires would mean pauses in fighting to allow vaccination campaigns to take place across both sides of the conflict," it said.

"These ceasefires, also known as days of tranquillity, have previously been carried out successfully in Afghanistan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo."

Syria launched a vaccination campaign around the country days after the Geneva-based WHO said it had received reports of the cluster of acute flaccid paralysis cases in Syria's Deir el-Zour province.

The humanitarian crisis has brought an end to vaccination programmes

Nearly all Syrian children were vaccinated against the disease - which begins with fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs - before the civil war began more than two years ago.

Polio was last reported in Syria in 1999.

In 1998, polio was endemic in 125 countries and there were an estimated 350,000 cases but that had fallen to just 223 cases in 2012 and it was endemic in just Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, WHO warns that if just one child remains infected the risk of the disease spreading again remains and eradication efforts in Nigeria and Pakistan have all been harmed by attacks by Islamist militants.

The Syrian conflict, which began as a largely peaceful uprising against President Bashar al Assad in March 2011, has triggered a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale.

More than 100,000 people have lost their lives and up to seven million more have been driven from their homes.

Save the Children's chief executive Justin Forsyth said: "The fact that an outbreak of polio has now been confirmed in Syria is another sign of the desperate and spiralling humanitarian situation there.

"The UN Security Council recently agreed on access for humanitarian relief across Syria. This polio crisis is a clear test of whether all sides of the conflict will respect the Security Council's presidential statement and allow unhindered humanitarian aid."

UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, in Syria trying to organise peace talks, has warned of the of the war-ravaged country becoming like Somalia.

"What history teaches us is that after a crisis like this there is no going back," the Algerian diplomat told the Jeune Afrique website ahead of his first visit to Syria since December, when he angered the regime by saying all powers should be handed over to a transitional government.

"The real danger is a sort of 'Somalisation', but even more deep and lasting than what we have seen in Somalia."

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