Afghanistan: Taliban 'Admit' US Troop Attack

Taliban Insurgency: A Timeline

Updated: 4:44pm UK, Tuesday 18 June 2013

As Afghan forces take control of national security, marking a major milestone for the withdrawal of US-led combat troops, here is a timeline of the 12 years of Taliban insurgency in the country.

:: September 11, 2001 - al Qaeda hijackers fly passenger planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is known to live in Afghanistan, which is ruled by the Taliban.

:: October 7, 2001 - A US-led military campaign begins with air strikes against Afghanistan, followed by troops, to hunt down bin Laden and topple the Taliban.

:: December 2001 - The Taliban are forced from power, but bin Laden is not found. Plans are laid for an interim government and a multinational force. Hamid Karzai is appointed to lead the government and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) begins to deploy.

:: October 9, 2004 - Afghanistan's first presidential election takes place. Mr Karzai is proclaimed the winner. He is declared to have won another term in November 2009, amid accusations of massive electoral fraud.

:: February 2007 - Taliban insurgents attack at US base as vice president Dick Cheney visits, killing 24 people.

:: November 2008 - Barack Obama is elected US president, and vows to end the war in Iraq and focus on Afghanistan.

:: December 1, 2009 - Mr Obama orders a "surge" of 30,000 troops into Afghanistan but says withdrawals will begin in July 2011. The number of NATO-led forces reaches a peak of 150,000 in the summer of 2010.

:: May 2, 2011 - Osama bin Laden is killed by US special forces in the Pakistan town of Abbottabad.

:: June 22, 2011 - Mr Obama announces the withdrawal of 33,000 US troops by the middle of 2012.

:: July 2011 - Western troops and officials begin handing authority to Afghan forces in some areas.

:: August 6, 2011 - 30 US troops, mostly special forces, and eight Afghans die when the Taliban shoots down their helicopter in the biggest single loss for foreign troops in the war.

:: September 20, 2011 - Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former president and Mr Karzai's peace envoy, becomes the most senior politician to be killed since the start of the conflict in an assassination blamed by Afghan officials on the Taliban.

:: November 27, 2011 - US air strikes kill 24 Pakistani soldiers, prompting Pakistan to suspend overland NATO supply routes into Afghanistan for several months.

:: December 6, 2011 - At least 84 people die in suicide blasts at shrines on the Shiite holday day of Ashura. The biggest attack takes place in Kabul, killing 80.

:: February 2012 - Deadly protests kill 40 people and force Mr Obama to apologise after US troops burn copies of the Koran on an Afghan military base.

:: March 11, 2012 - A rogue US soldier walks off his base in Kandahar and kills 16 Afghans, most of them women and children.

:: February 2013 - Mr Obama announces 34,000 US troops will return from Afghanistan by mid-February 2014. There are currently 98,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.

At least 3,336 foreign troops have died since the start of operations in 2001.

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NSA Chief: Spying 'Foiled 50 Terror Plots'

The director of the National Security Agency has insisted the US government's sweeping surveillance programmes have foiled some 50 terrorist plots worldwide.

Among those prevented attacks was one planned for the New York Stock Exchange and another aimed at a Danish newspaper that had published a cartoon image of the Prophet Mohammed, according to US officials.

In a forceful defence echoed by leaders of the House Intelligence Committee, Army General Keith Alexander said the two recently disclosed programmes are critical in the terrorism fight.

The programmes "assist the intelligence community to connect the dots", Gen Alexander told the committee in a rare, open Capitol Hill hearing.

The National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland

Gen Alexander got no disagreement from the leaders of the panel, who have been outspoken in backing the programmes since Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton, disclosed information to The Washington Post and The Guardian newspapers.

Representative Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the committee, and Rep CA Dutch Ruppersberger, the panel's top Democrat, said the programmes were vital to the intelligence community and assailed Mr Snowden's actions as criminal.

Mr Rogers said: "It is at times like these where our enemies within become almost as damaging as our enemies on the outside."

Mr Ruppersberger said the "brazen disclosures" put the United States and its allies at risk.

The general counsel for the intelligence community said the NSA cannot target phone conversations between callers inside the US - even if one of those callers was someone they were targeted for surveillance when outside the country.

Snowden is believed to be in Hong Kong

The director of national intelligence's legal chief, Robert S Litt, said that if the NSA finds it has accidentally gathered a phone call by a target who had travelled into the US without their knowledge, they have to "purge" that from their system.

The same goes for an accidental collection of any conversation because of an error.

Mr Litt said those incidents are then reported to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which "pushes back" and asks how it happened, and what the NSA is doing to fix the problem so it does not happen again.

Mr Rogers previewed the latest public airing of the NSA controversy the morning after President Barack Obama vigorously defended the surveillance programmes in a lengthy interview Monday.

Mr Snowden, meanwhile, accused members of Congress and administration officials in an online interview Monday of exaggerating their claims about the success of the data gathering programmes.

The American citizen, believed to be in Hong Kong, said he planned to release more details on how he says the NSA can gain direct access to internet data on private servers.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Mr Snowden's father, Lon Snowden, defended his son's integrity and said he hoped he would not do anything that might be considered treasonous.

He said: "I would like to see Ed come home and face this. I shared that with the government when I spoke with them. I love my son."

He added: "I would rather my son be a prisoner in the US than a free man in a country that did not have ... the freedoms that are protected" in America.

The US has launched a criminal investigation to prosecute the whistleblower for lifting and exposing the classified material.

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Jill Meagher Killer Sentenced To Life In Prison

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

A man has been jailed for life for the murder of Irishwoman Jill Meagher in Melbourne, Australia.

Adrian Ernest Bayley, who had pleaded guilty to raping and murdering the 29-year-old on September 22 last year, was told he will not be able to apply for parole for at least 35 years.

The 41-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing, plus 15 years for the rape.

Victorian Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Nettle told Bayley: "The nature and gravity of your offending and its antecedence ensure that nothing but life imprisonment will suffice.

"It was a savage, violent rape of the worst kind. Your killing of the deceased ranks among the worst kind conceivable.

"I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt you pose a risk to the sexual safety of the community."

Justice Nettle said Bayley would not have received a minimum term if he had not pleaded guilty.

Ms Meagher was attacked as she walked back to her flat after having drinks with colleagues from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Bayley dragged her into an alleyway before raping and murdering her.

Jill Meagher's husband Tom at court in Melbourne

The serial sex offender was on parole at the time after serving eight years in prison for raping five women previously.

He was also on bail, after causing serious injury to a man outside a nightclub.

Ms Meagher's heartbroken family, including husband Tom, brother Michael and mother Edith McKeon, were in court to hear the sentence.

Her father, George McKeon, made an emotional statement afterwards, saying: "Jill was brutally raped and murdered, and is never coming back.

"Because of Ben Leonard and the team at Victoria Police and Richard Lewis and his colleagues at Public Prosecutions Victoria, justice has now been done."

The court heard Ms Meagher, in all probability, had the greatest and best of her life ahead of her, before she was stolen from her husband and parents by Bayley.

Her husband had been robbed of the love and companionship of his life partner, Justice Nettle said.

"You were determined to have your way with her and so you overpowered her and raped her where she stood," the judge said.

"You are a recidivist violent sexual offender who has had little compunction about sexually offending when the mood takes you.

Jill Meagher on her wedding day

"You dragged her off the street at night while she was quietly going about her business a stone's throw from her home. The rape was savage and degrading."

At a previous hearing the court heard Tom Meagher's victim impact statement where he said he was haunted by visions of what happened to her.

He said his future had been taken away and replaced with a life of fear, insomnia and anger.

"What was stolen from me on the 22nd of September 2012 was love, my best friend and my entire world," Mr Meagher said in his statement.

"I think of the waste of a brilliant mind and a beautiful soul. I am half a person because of this crime."

At the same hearing Ms Meagher's brother, Michael McKeon, said there were no adequate words to describe the impact of the loss of his sister.

"I am in dreadful pain, I must carry on with living a full life, yet I will never forget my sister," he said in a statement read to the court.

The couple had moved to Australia in 2009 after getting married and set up life in Melbourne.

Six days after the attack Bayley led police to her body, buried in a shallow grave on the outskirts of the city.

Her murder struck a chord in Melbourne with 30,000 people marching through the city to remember Jill and also highlight wider concerns about violence against women.

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Ohio Kidnap: Ariel Castro Charged By Police

Ariel Castro has been charged in Ohio with kidnap and rape after police revealed his three alleged victims had only been let out of the house twice in 10 years.

Castro, 52, was held after Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, and Ms Berry's six-year-old daughter were freed from the house in Cleveland.

He has been charged with four counts of kidnapping and three of rape. The rape charges do not relate to the child.

The women are believed to have only been allowed to leave the home briefly on two occasions, both times to go "into the garage in disguise", deputy police chief Ed Tomba told a news conference.

"They were in that home. They don't believe they've been outside of the home for the last 10 years.

Watch Ariel Castro's court appearance live on Sky News

"They were not in one room, but they did know each other and they did know each other was there."

He refused to comment on reports that the women had become pregnant on several occasions and had lost the babies.

Police also released recordings of the moment stunned medics arrived at the scene after the women escaped.

Castro's two brothers - Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50 - were also detained on Monday but are not expected to be charged in connection with the kidnapping.

A police officer outside Ariel Castro's home in Cleveland

"There is nothing that leads us to believe that they were involved or had any knowledge of this," Mr Tomba said. "We found no facts to link them to the crime."

Tomba refused to discuss specifics of evidence discovered in the home, but earlier, city police chief Michael McGrath had said the women were "bound and there were chains and ropes in the hall".

Ms Berry, Ms DeJesus, and Ms Knight were aged 16, 14 and 20 respectively when they went missing around a decade ago.

All three were rescued when Ms Berry, now 27, alerted a neighbour who helped them escape.

People embrace outside Gina DeJesus' home after she was freed

Ms Berry and Ms DeJesus, 23, have been welcomed back at their homes with balloons and banners, while crowds cheered as they were reunited with their families.

Sandra Ruiz, an aunt of Ms DeJesus, said there were "not enough words to express the joy we feel at the return of our family member, Gina".

Ms Berry's sister, Beth Serrano, thanked the public for their "support and courage over the years".

Ms Knight is yet to appear in public. The 32-year-old is understood to be in a good condition at a local hospital.

Following criticism of the police handling of the case, Mr McGrath said he was "absolutely" sure officers did everything they could to find the women and disputed claims from neighbours that officials had been called to the property previously when suspicions were raised.

Ariel Castro is expected to appear in court later.

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Diamond Heist: Arrests Over Brussels Raid

Police have arrested 33 people suspected of being involved in a £30m diamond heist at a Brussels airport.

A large amount of cash and diamonds were recovered in the early morning raids, involving more than 200 officers across Belgium, France and Switzerland.

The raiders made off with a variety of rough and polished gems

One suspected member of the eight-man gang that allegedly staged the theft was arrested in France, while Swiss police made a eight arrests and Belgian police took 24 people into custody.

A statement from the Swiss prosecutor's office said: "A big haul was seized, of 100,000 Swiss francs (£68,000) in cash and a large quantity of diamonds, the value of which is currently being estimated.

"The arrests were made thanks to the excellent collaboration between the Brussels and Geneva authorities."

The Belgian authorities said some of the suspects detained in Belgium, aged between 30 and 50, were "well known" to police.

The heist was carried out by heavily-armed men posing as police officers who cut through the perimeter fence of Zaventem International airport around 8pm on February 18 to reach a Swiss passenger aircraft that was due to take off.

In an operation that lasted barely 10 minutes and took place without a shot being fired, the men forced open the hold of the plane and removed some 120 boxes of mainly uncut diamonds from Antwerp.

Questions were raised over the ease with which the raid was carried out

The gems were bound for India and, as they were mainly uncut, they were uncertified, making them harder to trace and easier to sell on.

At the time the raid was described by French airport security consultant Doron Levy as "incredibly audacious and well organised," adding that it was likely an inside job and the suspects "probably know their employees by name".

The heist was also described as "one of the biggest" by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the global dealers' syndicate.

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Tesla: Electric Car Sales Spark First Profit

Accelerating demand has helped US electric car-maker Tesla make its first quarterly profit, sparking a surge in its share price.

Ten-year-old Tesla Motors surprised the market on Wednesday night when it confirmed earnings of $15m (£9.6m) in its first quarter, having delivered nearly 5,000 Model S electric cars during the first three months of the year.

The Californian company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, said it expects to deliver 21,000 Model S cars worldwide, up 5% from its earlier target of 20,000, and said global demand might soon surpass 30,000 vehicles a year.

Mr Musk said: "There's potential for next year a fairly significant increase in volume as we really test the depth of the demand that's out there.

"It's probably quite a bit higher than we had originally thought."

Tesla also reported higher-than-expected revenue of $562m (£361m) after selling 4,900 cars in the first quarter.

The results sent Tesla shares up 17% to $65.50 in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.

The Model S, a  four-door fastback sports sedan, is Tesla's second model after the more expensive Roadster and represents the company's effort to reach a broader group of buyers.

Bringing down the cost of its vehicles has been the issue Mr Musk has previously pledged to address - a strategy that has helped improve share values by two-thirds this year.

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Rodman Asks Kim Jong-Un To Free Prisoner

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

In an odd twist of international diplomacy, American basketball superstar Dennis Rodman has called for North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un to release a US prisoner from custody.

Rodman wrote on his Twitter page: "I'm calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him "Kim", to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose."

Mr Bae, 44, is an American tour operator who was arrested while hosting a group of tourists in North Korea last November.

He was accused of "hostile acts" against the country after reportedly taking unauthorised photographs.

Dennis Rodman's tweeted request to Kim Jong-Un

Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong-Un formed an unlikely friendship when the basketball star toured North Korea earlier this year.

Mr Kim, who is known to be a huge basketball fan, took Rodman to a game and the two were photographed enjoying an evening banquet together.

The trip was criticised by some because Rodman appeared to be completely ignoring North Korea's human rights record by fraternising with one of the world's last remaining dictatorships.

Others said that the basketball player could instigate a subtle form of diplomacy: basketball diplomacy.

If Rodman's tweet works and Mr Bae is pardoned from his sentence of 15 years' hard labour, it would be a coup and would enable the US to avoid the prospect of sending a senior politician or former president to Pyongyang to negotiate.

In 2009, two American journalists were held in North Korea and sentenced to hard labour.

Former US President Bill Clinton travelled to Pyongyang and negotiated their release with then-leader Kim Jong-Il.

Mr Kim speaks to military commanders while at his desk on some grass

Last week, US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said: "We call on the DPRK to release Kenneth Bae immediately on humanitarian grounds."

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have been extremely high over the past few months, with rhetoric on both sides at a level not seen for years.

Kenneth Bae's detention is widely seen as being politically motivated and a bargaining chip by Pyongyang in order to gain leverage over the US.

The motivation behind the recent North Korean tension is thought to be twofold. Internally, it is an attempt by the North Korean leadership to shore up its legitimacy.

Internationally, North Korea wants to be taken seriously as a nuclear state. The US has made plain their insistence that they will only talk to Pyongyang on the condition that it gives up its nuclear programme.

North Korea now appears to have pulled back from its recent rhetoric, withdrawing two medium-range missiles from their launch pads.

However, the country's news agency, KCNA, continues to release unusual images of Kim Jong-Un meeting his military commanders. In the latest, they appear to have moved Mr Kim's office outside. 

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Ohio Women Found: Police Praise Amanda Berry

Three brothers have been arrested after three women who went missing separately about a decade ago in Cleveland, Ohio, were found alive in the same house.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight disappeared in nearby areas of the city between 2002 and 2004. Officers believe they were tied up during years of being held captive.

The three, who vanished in their teens or early 20s, were rescued after a neighbour heard Ms Berry screaming and went to help her.

Police hailed her "bravery" and said the women's actions were the "ultimate definition of survival and perseverance".

The suspects arrested in connection with the kidnappings have been named as Ariel, Pedro and Onil Castro, aged 52, 54 and 50.

Suspects (L-R) brothers Ariel Castro, Onil Castro and Pedro Castro

The property from where the women made their dramatic escape to freedom was just a few miles from where they vanished.

The women appeared to be in good health and were released from hospital after being taken there for checks and have been reunited with their families.

Authorities said they had no intelligence the trio were in the house, and police believe a six-year-old girl also found at the property is Ms Berry's daughter.

Forensics and FBI teams have been carrying out an extensive search of the property, where police sources reportedly quoted in the local media believe the women were repeatedly beaten and raped, and that there were five pregnancies.

Ms Berry in hospital with her sister and a young girl also found with her

FBI special agent Stephen Anthony said: "The nightmare is over. These three young ladies have provided us with the ultimate definition of survival and perseverance. The healing can now begin.

"The families of these three ladies never gave up hope, and neither did law enforcement. As you can imagine, words can't describe the emotions being felt by all."

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said there were still "several unanswered questions" about the case, and authorities stressed that as the investigation was ongoing, many facts could not be discussed.

Police revealed they went to the home in 2004 for an unrelated investigation when school bus driver Ariel Castro had apparently left a child unattended on a bus, but no-one answered the door.

Officers also visited the property in 2000 when Ariel Castro reported a fight in the street, but no arrests were made.

A poster with images of Amanda Berry

Sky's US correspondent Dominic Waghorn, at the scene, said: "Neighbours say there were some unusual things about Ariel Castro - the fact that he keeps his ground floor windows boarded up with plywood ... and he used to park his school bus here during the day just to drop in and check on something, but never explained why.

"But they say he seemed such a good man, and a good neighbour, they never suspected anything."

Elsie Cintron, who lived two doors away, told Sky News that a family member saw "a naked woman crawling on her hands and knees" in the backyard of the Cleveland house where the women were found and called police, and that she saw a young girl at the attic window.

Cleveland officials said Tuesday that they had no record of anyone calling about criminal activity at the house but that they were still combing their records.

Ms Berry, who was 16 at the time, disappeared on April 21, 2003, when she called her sister to say she was getting a lift home from her job at a Burger King outlet.

Gina DeJesus went missing on her way home from school

Ms DeJesus went missing aged 14 on her way home from school about a year after Ms Berry's disappearance.

The third woman, Ms Knight, had been missing since 2002. She is believed to have been 20 at the time.

The long nightmare for the trio ended when Ms Berry reached through a crack in the front door and called for help.

Neighbour Charles Ramsey heard her screaming and tried to get her out through the door, but could not pull it open.

So he kicked the bottom open and she crawled through carrying a little girl.

Another neighbour Anna Tejeda said Ms Berry was nervous and crying, and dressed in pyjamas and old sandals.

Balloons outside the home of Gina DeJesus

Ms Tejeda said she gave her telephone to Ms Berry, who then called police.

In a recording of the 911 call, she told the emergency dispatcher: "I'm Amanda Berry. I've been kidnapped. I've been missing for 10 years. I'm free. I'm here now."

She said she had been taken by someone - and begged officers to arrive at the home on Cleveland's west side "before he gets back".

When police arrived, they found the two other women who were allegedly being held captive. They were also rescued.

Mr Ramsey explained how he rescued Ms Berry, saying: "I hear this girl screaming and she's going nuts.

"So I come outside and I know there's nobody supposed to be screaming next door to my house because there's no girl that lives in that house.

Charles Ramsey, the neighbour who helped Amanda Berry escape

"When I came to the front door and looked at her she said 'My name is Amanda Berry - please get me out of this house'.

"She told the police, 'I ain't just only one, there's some more girls up in that house. So they go on up there ... and when they came out it was just astonishing."

Kayla Rogers, a childhood friend of Ms DeJesus, told The Plain Dealer newspaper: "I've been praying, never forgot about her, ever.

"This is amazing. This is a celebration. I'm so happy. I just want to see her walk out of those doors so I can hug her."

The rescue is the latest in a series of high-profile cases involving females being held captive for several years.

The three women disappeared in nearby areas of the city

Jaycee Dugard was found on August 26, 2009, 18 years after she was kidnapped aged 11 in California.

She had been seized by Phillip Garrido - and his wife Nancy - while on her way to school in South Lake Tahoe in June 1991, and was kept in a hidden backyard and had two children with him. The Garridos were jailed for life.

Reacting to the escape of the Cleveland trio, she said in in a statement: "These individuals need the opportunity to heal and connect back in the world. This isn't who they are. It is only what happened to them.

"The human spirit is resilient. More than ever this reaffirms we should never give up hope."

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Genoa: At Least Three Dead In Port Ship Tragedy

At least three people have died and several are missing after a container ship smashed into a control tower in the port of Genoa.

The incident happened at around 11pm local time

Part of the tower in which about 14 people were present at the time of the accident crashed into the water.

One of the victims was thought to be a woman in her 30s, while the other two were male.

Rescue workers dived into the water around the port in a frantic search to find around 10 people believed to be missing.

Rescuers are still searching the wreckage of the building

Six others were reported seriously injured.

An employee of the Messina Line company, based in Genoa which owns the vessel, confirmed that "there was an accident when the ship was leaving the port".

"It ran into the tower, but we don't know why at this point, nor how many people are hurt," he said.

The port control tower before the incident

The container ship, the Italian Jolly Nero, is almost 200m (655ft) long, 30m (98ft) wide, and weighs over 40,500 tonnes.

The ship's owner, Stefano Messina, said: "We are all utterly shocked. Nothing like this has ever happened before, we are desperate."

The Jolly Nero weighs over 40,500 tonnes

New reports said the captain was being questioned by police.

The impact happened during a shift change at the tower which meant that more people were present.

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Philippines: Mayon Volcano Eruption Kills Five

Five climbers have been killed after one of the Philippines' most active volcanoes erupted - leaving more than a dozen others trapped.

Ash rises after the eruption of Mayon volcano

Rescue teams and helicopters were sent to the centre of the country as huge rocks and ash began pouring out of Mayon volcano early on Tuesday morning.

Albay provincial Governor Joey Salceda said at least seven people from a group of around 20 mountaineers were injured after being caught by surprise by the sudden eruption.

Clouds have cleared over the volcano, which was quiet later in the morning.

Guide Kenneth Jesalva told ABS-CBN TV network the climbers who died - including a German, an Austrian and a Filipino - were struck by huge rocks.               

He said he was in the group that spent the night on the picturesque mountain, known for its almost-perfect cone, when the volcano rumbled back to life and rocks "as big as a living room" came raining down on them - before he rushed back to the base camp to call for help.

Eduardo del Rosario, chief of the national disaster agency, said the injured included foreigners and Filipino guides, with some in a critical condition.

The head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Renato Solidum, said the eruption was normal for the restive Mayon, about 212 miles southeast of the capital Manila.

It has erupted around 40 times during the last 400 years.

It last erupted in 2010, when thousands of residents moved to temporary shelters when the volcano ejected ash across a five-mile zone surrounding the crater.

Mr Solidum said no alert was raised for the volcano following the latest eruption and no evacuation was being planned.

Climbers are not allowed when an alert is up, and it is thought the recent calm may have encouraged this week's trek.

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