Federal Reserve Bomb Plotter Jailed For 30 Years

A 22-year-old man who admitted plotting to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank in New York has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, from Bangladesh, begged for leniency during his sentencing, having pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in February.

"I'm ashamed. I'm lost. I tried to do a terrible thing. I alone am responsible for what I've done. Please forgive me," he told Manhattan federal court, as he apologised to the judge, the United States, New York City and his parents.

The defendant said in a five-page typed letter to Judge Carol Bagley Amon that he no longer believed in radical Islam.

"My actions are inexcusable and cowardly," he wrote.

The Federal Reserve Bank Of New York

"After giving a deep thought I truly hate my actions and I know that I will never pursue such behaviour again that is not only un-Islamic, but also destroyed my family and my life."

He was charged in October 2012 with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda.

The court heard that Nafis became radicalised at his university in Bangladesh and came to the US with aspirations of jihad.

Authorities said Nafis adopted increasingly more radical views once in the US and began using Facebook and other social media to seek support for a terror attack.

One of his contacts turned out to be a government informant who notified authorities.

While under investigation, Nafis spoke of his admiration for Osama bin Laden and talked of writing an article about his plot for an al Qaeda affiliated magazine.

He also talked about wanting to kill President Barack Obama and bomb the New York Stock Exchange, officials said.

As the plot progressed, Nafis selected his target, drove a van loaded with dummy explosives to the door of the bank and tried to set off the bomb from a hotel room using a cell phone he thought had been rigged as a detonator, authorities said.

No one was ever actually in danger because the explosives were fakes provided by the government.

"Nafis's goals of martyrdom and carnage were thwarted by the vigilance of law enforcement," said US district attorney Loretta Lynch after the sentencing.

"He will now spend the next 30 years where his own actions have landed him -- in a federal prison cell," she said.

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Zimbabwe's Opposition Appeals Mugabe Poll Win

Zimbabwe's main opposition party has gone to the country's top court to challenge the result of last month's election which gave President Robert Mugabe another five years in power.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claims the poll on July 31 was a "farce" riddled with fraud and voters were allegedly intimidated by Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

Lawyers for the MDC have lodged papers with the constitutional court in the capital Harare arguing the result was rigged, should be annulled and a new election held.

Zimbabwe's electoral commission had declared veteran politician Mr Mugabe the winner with 61% of the votes in the presidential election, against MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai with 34%.

"We want a fresh election within 60 days. The prayer that we also seek is to declare the election null and void," MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told journalists outside the court.

Morgan Tsvangirai served as Mr Mugabe's PM in a fractious unity government

Zimbabwe's constitution says the court must rule on the case within 14 days.

Most analysts believe the MDC's legal challenge to Mr Mugabe's victory will not be successful given ZANU-PF's dominance over the judiciary and state institutions in the country.

Mr Mugabe, who has been president since 1987, will be sworn in only after the case is decided.

ZANU-PF has denied any vote-rigging in the election, which Mr Tsvangirai, who has served as Mugabe's prime minister in a fractious unity government, has called a "coup by ballot".

Election observers from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community broadly approved the presidential and parliamentary elections as orderly and free.

But the vote result has been questioned by the West.

The United States, which maintains sanctions against Mr Mugabe, has said it does not believe his re-election was credible.

The European Union, which has been looking at easing sanctions, has also expressed concerns over alleged serious flaws in the vote.

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Venezuela: Maduro Sleeps In Chavez's Tomb

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro makes no secret of his devotion to the late leader Hugo Chavez - and now he has admitted he sometimes sleeps in the mausoleum where his mentor's remains are kept.

Mr Maduro, who served as Mr Chavez's vice president, was named by him as his successor before he died.

He said he likes to be close to the former leader's remains so he can "carefully consider" his actions.

Mr Maduro, right, claims he sleeps with Mr Chavez's remains to 'reflect'

Mr Maduro went on: "I sometimes come at night. At times, many times, I sleep here."

Sometimes, he brings an entourage: "We enter at night and we stay to sleep. At night we reflect on things here."

During the campaign for the April 14 election he narrowly won, Mr Maduro caused a furore when he said Mr Chavez came to him in the form of a little bird that flew around his head.

Mr Maduro has promised to continue with Mr Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution.

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Olympic Boycott Urged Over Russia Gay Rights

By Katie Stallard, Russia Correspondent

Calls are growing for a boycott of next year's Winter Olympics in Russia in protest at what campaigners have called its "barbaric" new homophobic laws.

Broadcaster Stephen Fry has appealed directly to David Cameron and members of the International Olympic Committee [IOC] to stop the games being held in Russia, comparing Vladimir Putin's treatment of gay people to Adolf Hitler's treatment of Jews.

He said allowing the games to go ahead in Putin's Russia would be comparable to the decision to hold the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany.

Four-time Olympic champion diver Greg Louganis yesterday delivered a 320,000 signature petition to IOC headquarters in Switzerland, urging it to condemn Russia's "anti-gay laws".

Stephen Fry has compared Russia's actions to the Nazis

US President Barack Obama said earlier this week: "I think they [Putin and Russia] understand that for most of the countries that participate in the Olympics, we wouldn't tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently." 

Asked by TV host Jay Leno whether this was "like Germany: let's round up the Jews, let's round up the gays," President Obama replied: "I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in a way that intimidate them or are harmful to them."

The White House later cancelled a planned meeting with President Putin in Moscow, primarily over Russia's decision to grant whistleblower Edward Snowden asylum, but also citing a lack of progress on human rights among a number of issues of concern.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a new bill into law in June banning "homosexual propaganda" - making it illegal to give anyone under 18 information about homosexuality.

Anyone deemed to be promoting gay rights, or "non-traditional relationships" to young people in Russia could now be arrested and fined, or in the case of foreigners, detained and deported.

Protesters gathered outside the Russian consulate in New York

Critics say the law is intentionally vaguely-worded and part of a broader crackdown on gay rights in Russia.

The country's sports minister has said the law will apply to athletes and spectators at the Sochi games, due to be held in the Russian Black Sea resort in February 2014.

In an open letter to the British Prime Minister and IOC, Stephen Fry said: "The IOC absolutely must take a firm stance on behalf of the shared humanity it is supposed to represent against the barbaric, fascist law that Putin has pushed through the Duma.

"An absolute ban on the Russian Winter Olympics of 2014 on Sochi is simply essential.

"Stage them elsewhere in Utah, Lillyhammer, anywhere you like. At all costs Putin cannot be seen to have the approval of the civilised world.

"He is making scapegoats of gay people, just as Hitler did Jews. He cannot be allowed to get away with it."

Leading Russian LGBT rights campaigner Nikolai Alexeyev, head of the organisation Gay Russia, told Sky News it had seen an increase in homophobic violence since the introduction of the law.

He said: "The situation is deteriorating in the last months due to the very big discussions around the law banning homosexual propaganda.

Scuffles broke out outside parliament when the new law was debated in June

"Of course this law gave a sort of carte blanche top to the anti-gay people - anti-gay activists - to further attack LGBT people.

"We saw in recent months a rise in homophobic crimes, we saw that several people were killed on the basis of hatred towards LGBT people.

"The situation is very tense now due to this law and the forthcoming Olympic Games, which is now very much linked to this gay topic due to the outrage from the international community."

The controversial law has also prompted a campaign to boycott Russian vodka in the United States, as well as criticism from pop stars including Madonna and Lady Gaga.

In a message on her Twitter account earlier this week, Lady Gaga called the Russian government "criminal".

She added: "Why didn't you arrest me when you had the chance, Russia? Because you didn't want answer to the world?""

"Oppression will be met with revolution. Russian LGBTs you are not alone. We will fight for your freedom."

An IOC spokeswoman confirmed it had received a petition from activists and said it had "engaged in an open and constructive discussion" with them.

Campaigners want protests and publicity during next year's winter games

Speaking in Sochi on Wednesday, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said the law would not "infringe on rights of people based on sexual orientation, either at the Olympics, or before or after" - as long as children were not involved.

He said gay athletes could "get on with their private life, including telling adults about its advantages and attractiveness, but not involve children".

LGBT campaigner Nikolai Alexeyev said a boycott would not be fair to the sportsmen and women who have trained towards the games.

The Sochi Olympics should instead to be used to draw attention to the current situation in Russia, said Mr Alexeyev.

"I think it's not very just to these athletes to deny them this opportunity to compete and I think that it would be much more practical to express outrage against these homophobic laws in Russia by showing some kind of support during the Olympic Games, during the press conference, during the TV reports from the games, during any Olympic competitions."

He added: "To wear the rainbow pins, wear the rainbow flags, to do something during the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics … to try to do the gay pride in Sochi like we want to do on the day of the opening of the games.

"I think this will attract more publicity around the world because the eyes of the world will be on Sochi during the games in February next year."

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Malaria Jab a Step Closer After Vaccine Trial

Tests on a new malaria vaccine have raised hopes the battle is being won against the disease which kills hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The experimental drug, which is known as PfSPZ and is made from living Plasmodium falciparum parasites, has proved highly effective in early-stage clinical trials.

Although the "proof of concept" trial was small - involving 40 adults - it could pave the way for the first vaccine offering 100% protection.

Manufacturing the vaccine was itself an achievement for researchers.

2010: 90% of all malaria deaths occurred in the poorest parts of Africa

Scientists first exposed sterile mosquitoes to malaria-infected blood before irradiating them to weaken the malaria parasites. Then the mosquitoes had to be carefully dissected to extract the parasites to make the serum.

"This was something that everybody said was not possible; and here it is," said Navy Captain Judith Epstein, one of the researchers from research company Sanaria, in Rockville, Maryland.

"We're in the first stages now of really being able to have a completely effective vaccine," she said, adding she hoped to see licensing of the vaccine within three to five years.

Early results of the vaccine are promising though not yet a breakthrough

Malaria infected 219 million people in 2010 and killed an estimated 660,000, according to the World Health Organisation - the equivalent of one child in Africa dying every minute.

"It's an important proof of concept," said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of America's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, adding that the results were the most promising yet of any experimental vaccine, though he resisted calling the trial a breakthrough.

"There are several more steps before you can feel comfortable that you have something that might be ready for prime time," he said.

"So we're really not there yet, but it's encouraging to see these very favourable results."

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Oprah Winfrey 'Victim Of Racism' In Swiss Shop

Oprah Winfrey has said she recently became a victim of racism when a shop assistant in Switzerland refused to show her a handbag saying it would be "too expensive" for her.

The US chat show host, who is one of the richest women in the world, was in Zurich for Tina Turner's wedding when she decided to go shopping alone.

Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight: "I was in Zurich the other day, in a store whose name I will not mention. I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was in full Oprah Winfrey gear. I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my little sandals. But obviously The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Zurich.

"I go into a store and I say to the woman, 'Excuse me, may I see the bag right above your head?' and she says to me, 'No. It's too expensive.'"

When Winfrey insisted again, the woman replied: "No, no you don't want to see that one, you want to see this one because that one will cost too much. You will not be able to afford that."

The assistant then started to show the media owner smaller bags before she asked for a third time and was refused again.

"She said, 'Oh I don't want to hurt your feelings' and I said, 'Ok thank you so much you're probably right I can't afford it.'" said the 59-year-old.

Winfrey, who is the world's only African-American billionaire, then walked out of the shop calmly.

She said: "I could've had the whole blow-up thing and thrown down the black card but why do that but that clearly is you know … it (racism) still exists, of course it does."

The revelation came after she was asked whether anyone had ever called her the "n word" on US television show.

She said no one in their right mind would call her that to her face, adding that racism showed itself in other ways.

"It shows up for me this way. Sometimes I'm in a boardroom or I'm in situations where I'm the only woman, I'm the only African American person within a 100 mile radius and I can see in the energy of the people there, they don't sense that I should be holding one of those seats.

"I can sense that. But I can never tell is it racism is it sexism because often it's both. I mean the sexism thing is huge. The higher the ladder you climb it gets huge, because men are used to running things."

Oprah has just been awarded America's highest civilian honour - the Presidential Medal of Freedom - which she will receive from President Barack Obama at the White House later in the year.

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Canada Snake Attack: Boys Died Of Asphyxiation

Police have confirmed that brothers Connor and Noah Barthe died of asphyxiation after they were strangled to death by a 13-foot-long African rock python in Canada.

Post-mortem examinations on the children's bodies have confirmed the cause of death as a police investigation continues.

The children - aged six and four - were found dead on Monday morning in an apartment above a pet shop in the town of Campbellton, New Brunswick.

The pair had been at a sleep-over with a friend, the son of shop owner Jean-Claude Savoie. Mr Savoie tended to a private menagerie of exotic animals, including the python.

Officials say Mr Savoie did not have a permit to keep the 100-pound snake.

(L-R) Noah, Mandy Trecartin, Connor (Pic: Facebook / Mandy Trecartin)

"We were informed that a number of exotic animals were discovered while police were investigating the tragic deaths of the two boys believed killed by an African rock python," said Anne Bull, a spokeswoman for New Brunswick's Department of Natural Resources.

"That species of snake is not permitted in New Brunswick. According to our records, we have never had any involvement with this snake."

Police are treating the apartment as a crime scene and an investigation has been launched into how children became exposed to the predator.

Stuffed animals at a makeshift memorial near the pet store in Campbellton

The children's deaths have triggered a wave of emotion in New Brunswick and local people held a candle-light vigil in memory of the boys.

Mr Savoie found the young victims dead on Monday morning and alerted the authorities. Veterinary officials seized the snake and euthanised it.

Animal experts have expressed surprise at the tragedy, many of them noting that, while an African rock python is a dangerous animal capable of killing large prey, it would not normally attack humans.

The deaths have also led to a debate about Canada's laws relating to exotic pets, with overlapping federal, provincial and local regulations leading to confusion over ownership and safety rules.

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Two British Women In Acid Attack In Zanzibar

Two teenage British charity workers have had acid thrown in their faces in a late night attack on the island of Zanzibar.

The 18-year-old women were attacked as they were walking through the streets of Stone Town, the historical centre of the capital of the east African island, by two men on a moped.

The acid splashed their faces, chests and hands and they had to be flown to hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for treatment.

Police said that the two teenagers were working for a charity, on the island, which is a popular destination for gap year students doing voluntary work.

Deputy Police Commissioner Mkadam Khamis said: "Police in Zanzibar have launched a manhunt, and we ask for public assistance in identifying the attackers."

He added: "The motive for the attack on the volunteers, aged 18 years, has not been established."

Saleh Mohammed Jidawi, a senior health ministry official, said that the women's wounds were "not life threatening".

The assault is the first against foreigners in the popular tourist destination, however, there have been a series of attacks in the archipelago, mainly on grounds of religion.

A Muslim cleric was subjected to an acid attack in November. In February a Catholic priest was shot dead and in December another priest was shot and wounded.

The Indian Ocean islands, famed for their white sand beaches and historical buildings in Stone Town, listed as a world heritage site by Unesco,  are mainly Muslim, with 3% of the 1.2 million people Christian.

The attack on the island, 22 miles off the coast of Tanzania, came at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as people began to celebrate the Eid holiday.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of an incident and are providing consular assistance."

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Syria: Assad 'Unharmed After Rebel Attack'

Syrian authorities have denied claims that President Bashar al Assad's motorcade was attacked by rebels in Damascus.

Rebel groups claimed they launched the attack as Mr Assad travelled to attend prayers to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al Fitr, but footage broadcast on state TV showed him apparently looking relaxed and smiling as he arrived at a mosque.

A video distributed by the Tahrir al Sham rebels showed smoke rising from what it said was the Malki district, where Mr Assad and his close aides have homes.

The group's leader Firas al Bitar said his fighters had carried out reconnaissance of the route of the president's motorcade and fired 120mm artillery towards the convoy.

"The attack rattled the regime, even if Assad was not hit," he told Reuters from an undisclosed location in the capital.

"There were two motorcades, one containing Assad and a decoy. We targeted the correct one."

Islam Alloush of the Liwa al Islam, another rebel brigade, told Reuters that rebels fired rockets which hit Mr Assad's motorcade as he was heading to attend the prayers.

He said: "Assad was not hit but the information we have based from sources within the regime is that there were casualties within his entourage."

Other activists also reported rockets were fired into the Malki area, which was sealed off by security forces.

Syria's Information Minister Omran al Zohbi told state TV the rebel claims were false.

He said: "These reports are totally false. The president was driving his car himself, he attended the prayer and greeted people... everything is normal."

If confirmed, the attack would be one of the most direct against Mr Assad in two years of conflict, which have pitched mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against the Alawite president.

Rebels have targeted presidential residences in Damascus and a bombing in the capital last year killed four senior regime officials, but there have been no reports of Mr Assad himself coming under fire.

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Iran's Rouhani Urges Nuclear Talks With West

Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani has said he is "seriously determined" to resolve a dispute with the West over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Addressing his first news conference as leader, Mr Rouhani said was ready to enter "serious and substantive" negotiations on the issue without delay.

"We are the people of interaction and talks, with seriousness and without wasting time, if the other sides are ready," he said.

"As the president of the Islamic republic, I am announcing that there is political will to solve this issue and also take into consideration the concerns of the other sides.

"If the other party is also prepared like we are, then I am confident that the concerns of both sides will be removed through negotiations within a period which will not be very long."

Mr Rouhani said he wanted to allay Western concerns but would not surrender Iran's rights.

"Iran's peaceful nuclear programme is a national issue ... we will not give up the rights of the Iranian people," he said.

He said Iran would not abandon its nuclear programme, which it would uphold "on the basis of international law".

"We will preserve our rights based on the international regulations," he added, in reference to Iran's insistence that it has the right to peaceful use of nuclear power as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Mr Rouhani also used the speech to hit out at a call by 76 US senators for tougher sanctions from Washington.

Former leader Mr Ahmadinejad (C) at a nuclear enrichment facility in 2008

He said Friday's letter from the politicians to President Barack Obama, which was published on Monday, showed a lack of understanding of Iranian politics.

"Recent declarations from the the White House show that some US officials do not have a correct and realistic assessment of the situation here and the message that the Iranian people gave in the election," the new president said.

"They are still sending contradictory messages," he said, adding: "We care about the US response in deeds, not in words."

On Sunday, the White House said Iran will find the United States a "willing partner" if Mr Rouhani is prepared to engage substantively and seriously on its nuclear programme.

Mr Rouhani headed Iran's nuclear negotiating team in the early 2000s and Western leaders have expressed hope of a more constructive approach in the protracted talks.

The hard line policies of Mr Rouhani's predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, prompted crippling EU and US sanctions against Iran's oil and banking sectors that he has vowed to seek to relax.

Iran's critics say that it has used previous nuclear talks as a delaying tactic while continuing to develop nuclear weapons-related technology - something Tehran denies.

Western powers believe the Iranian nuclear programme is being used to develop an atomic bomb but Tehran insists it is for peaceful purposes.

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Iraq Bombs: Dozens Killed In Car Blasts

At least 51 people have been killed by a series of car bombs that ripped through busy markets and shopping streets in and around Baghdad.

More than 100 were wounded in the blasts as Iraq battles with its worst surge of sectarian violence in five years.

More than 1,000 were killed in the country in July - the highest monthly death toll since 2008, the United Nations said.

The Interior Ministry ramped up security in the capital this week by closing roads and deploying additional police and helicopters.

Bombs went off in northern, eastern and southern districts of the capital late on Tuesday, in areas crowded with shoppers and worshippers near a mosque.

Wreckage at the scene of a blast in Baghdad's Karrada district

One of the attacks hit a square in central Baghdad, where a parked car bomb killed five and wounded 18.

In a mainly Shi'ite neighbourhood to the south, another car bomb exploded close to a shop selling ice cream after the evening breaking of the Ramadan fast.

In Nahrawan, 30km (20 miles) southeast of Baghdad, militants targeted a crowded commercial street with a car bomb.

On the northern outskirts of the capital, a bomb exploded near a packed market.

Co-ordinated strikes that kill scores of people have become more common in Iraq in recent months.

Sunni Islamist militants have been regaining momentum in their insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government since the start of the year and have been emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has stoked sectarian tensions across the Middle East.

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Kenya Airport Fire: Inbound Flights Diverted

Kenya's main international airport has been closed as firefighters tackle a large blaze in the arrivals area.

Inbound flights have been rerouted to other Kenyan airports while the fire continues to burn at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Eyewitnesses say the billowing smoke can be seen from miles away, and stranded passengers are standing on pavements outside the airport holding their luggage.

"It was huge, the smoke billowing, and it didn't seem to be stopping," said Barry Fisher, who had hoped to fly to Ethiopia but was turned away.

Stranded passengers are standing on the pavement outside the airport

A British passenger, Martyn Collbeck, said he was surprised that the airport wasn't shut down sooner so that emergency vehicles could respond.

"When I arrived there were one or two fire engines parked outside the international arrivals, it spread very fast," said Mr Collbeck, who had been scheduled to fly back to London on an early morning KLM flight.

"There were a couple of explosions which I think were a couple of gas canisters. I would have expected more fire engines to respond faster."

The country's largest newspaper, The Daily Nation, reported last month that Nairobi County doesn't have a single working fire engine, and that three fire engines were auctioned off in 2009 because the county hadn't paid a $1,000 (£650) repair bill.

The fire happened at an airport in Nairobi

The fire burned for four hours before it was contained.

Transport secretary Michael Kamau said: "The fire started at a very central part of the airport and this made access difficult. But we have closed the airport indefinitely as we try to contain the fire."

It is the busiest airport in East Africa, and its closure is likely to affect flights throughout the region.

An official from the Civil Aviation Authority said only emergency landings would be allowed. No casualties have been reported.

The fire comes less than 48 hours after a fuel jet pump failure caused huge delays at the airport, forcing some flights to be rerouted to the airport in the coastal town of Mombasa, Uganda and Rwanda.

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Python Attack: Snake Kills Two Sleeping Boys

A python that escaped from a pet shop has killed two children by asphyxiating them in their sleep in eastern Canada.

The two boys - named locally as Noah Barthe, five, and his brother Connor, seven - were having a sleepover at their best friend's flat in the town of Campbellton when they were attacked by the snake.

The animal had escaped from the Reptile Ocean pet shop run by family friend Jean-Claude Savoie, located on the ground floor of the building.

Police outside the exotic pet store in Campbellton (Pic: CBC News)

The shop specialises in exotic pets.

Police said the African rock python entered the upstairs apartment via the two-storey building's ventilation system.

The boys were sleeping in the living room when they were attacked by the snake early on Monday morning.

"The preliminary investigation has led police to believe that a large exotic snake had escaped its enclosure at the store," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

An example of an African rock python (file pic)

"(It) got into the ventilation system, then into the upstairs apartment. It's believed the two boys were strangled by the snake."

The boys' mother, Mandy Trecartin, lives close to the Reptile Ocean store.

Mr Savoie told Global News that he found a "horrific scene" when he checked on the boys at about 6am.

Connor Barthe (L) and Noah Barthe (Pic: Facebook / Mandy Trecartin)

"I thought they were sleeping and I've seen the hole in the ceiling, (and) everything has fallen. I turn the lights on and I've seen this horrific scene," Mr Savoie said.

"I have so many mixed emotions right now. I can't believe this is real."

The python has been recaptured.

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Embassy Threat Came From Bugged Al Qaeda Call

Opportunity Knocks With Embassy Scare

Updated: 1:39pm UK, Monday 05 August 2013

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent

Talk about an opportunity.

Intelligence, from somewhere, indicated a serious plot to attack US interests - notably an embassy, in an unspecified Muslim nation.

Washington moves quickly. Some 22 embassies are 'closed'.

Within hours senators are defending the National Security Agency's highly controversial programmes for intercepting, that means bugging of some kind, of emails and phones across the US and the rest of the world.

"There has been an awful lot of (terrorist) chatter, which is very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11," said the Republican senator Saxby Chambliss on NBC's Meet the Press.

"As we come to the end of Ramadan, which is always an interesting time for terrorists, and the upcoming 9/11 anniversary, this is the most serious threat that I have seen in the last several years."

Mr Chambliss said he believed the intelligence had been gathered by the NSA using foreign surveillance powers granted under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

"This is a good indication of why they (the surveillance powers) are so important," he said.

Another Republican, Lindsey Graham weighed in. The senator said: "It is scary … the NSA programme is proving its worth yet again."

Coming at a time when the NSA is being investigated and pilloried in some quarters for violating the privacy of individuals. And at a time when the NSA has been exposed for spending $100m (£65m) on the UK's GCHQ facility in Cheltenham as part of its programme of global electronic surveillance, the US embassy scares are a Godsend.

Any attack on an American embassy would be extremely difficult. After the 1998 bombing of the Nairobi mission in which hundreds died, American diplomatic buildings closely resemble high value military installations, wrapped in concrete.

Ayman al Zawahiri, the new leader of al Qaeda, last week issued a call to arms and orders to his followers to attack US interests.

His statement was timed to coincide with the jail break of al Qaeda supporters in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

Al Qaeda threats are real. They are a tactical nightmare.

They are hard to stop, and take intense amounts of funding to prevent.

But al Qaeda has never posed a strategic threat to any Western nation. It can't disrupt trade, shut down power supplies, or topple governments.

It does, however, affect our lives every day as a consequence of the natural vigilance that sensible precautions against terror would require.

And as a result of legislation like the US Patriot Act and the UK's draft Communications Bill, both of which curtail individual liberties of ordinary citizens in the name of fighting terror.

It may be cynical to suggest that had it not been for the work of the NSA and other electronic surveillance organisations, that a terrible atrocity would not have been avoided.

But no plot is ever unravelled by electronic spying alone.

The focus of the latest operation appears to be the Yemen. The British embassy has closed there and asked all of its citizens to get out of the country.

The last time a major terror attack was foiled which emanated from the Yemen was when printers were loaded with plastic explosives and sent by courier to targets in the US.

They were intercepted in the UK. On information supplied by a Saudi agent. A good old fashioned human spy.

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Cannes Jewellery Heist: Reward Offered

Lloyd's of London has offered up to one million euro (£864,000) for information leading to the recovery of jewels stolen from a Cannes hotel.

An armed man pulled off a brazen daylight heist at the luxury Carlton Hotel on July 28, in one of the world's biggest ever jewellery thefts.

The jewels, which were taken from the hotel used to film To Catch a Thief  - the 1955 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock about a jewel thief, had an estimated value of £88.48m.

Carrying a semi-automatic pistol, his head covered with a cloth, the robber stole jewels that were part of an exhibition by a group owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev.

Authorities say the man escaped with "all kinds of different" jewellery, including "rings, pendants, and earrings encrusted with diamonds".

The exhibition was held in a wing of the hotel with direct access to the street and police said they had not been told that it was taking place.

Prosecutors say the robber entered the exhibition room through a French window that opened on to a terrace, which itself looks on to the popular Croisette avenue in Cannes.

"A reward of up to €1m pro rata is offered to the first person who provides information which leads to recovery of the goods. Offer subject to certain conditions," Lloyd's said in a statement.

Cannes has fallen prey to thieves several times recently, notably during this year's film festival, which attracts a glittering array of celebrities from the movie world.

In a pre-dawn heist at a hotel during the festival in May, thieves stole £660,000 of jewellery due to be loaned to movie stars.

That robbery took place in the hotel room of an American employee of Swiss jeweller Chopard while she was out for the evening, police said.

Anyone with information about the jewel heist should contact SW Associates at reward1millionE@gmail.com.

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