Hillary Clinton 'stands ready' to help Argentina and Britain resolve Falkland Islands row

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Hillary Clinton will meet Argentina's president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

The pair share a laugh during their meeting

Hillary Clinton with Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner during a meeting in Buenos Aires yesterday

Hillary Clinton has pledged to help Argentina and Britain resolve new tensions over the disputed Falkland Islands, which sparked a war between the two countries in 1982.

Argentina is expected today to urge the U.S. secretary of state to press Britain to negotiate over the Falklands.

Its president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, is meeting with Mrs Clinton at the inauguration of Uruguay's new president Jose Mujica in Montevideo.
Mrs Kirchner, who is known as the Queen of Argentina for her imperial manner, counts Mrs Clinton and ex-U.S. president Bill Clinton as friends.

She and husband Nestor, a former president, are said to want to take advantage of that relationship to put pressure on the Government.

The U.S. has said that it remains neutral on the issue of the islands' sovereignty.

But Mrs Clinton said today that America stood ready to help.

'We'll be going to Buenos Aires later today, I look forward to meeting with President (Cristina Fernandez) de Kirchner and discussing a full range of issues,' Mrs Clinton said during an appearance in Montevideo.

'It is our position that this is a matter to be resolved between the United Kingdom and Argentina. If we can be of any help in facilitating such an effort, we stand ready to do so.'
President Obama was irritated by the fact Mrs Kirchner spent the day of his presidential inauguration with her friend Fidel Castro in Cuba.

Americans were also angered by George Bush being snubbed by the country's then leader Nestor Kirchner at a summit in Argentina in 2005.

President Barack Obama was accused of being 'feeble' by failing to back London in the stand-off with Argentina over the disputed islands, despite the 'special relationship'.

London and Buenos Aires are at odds over UK firm Desire Petroleum's decision to drill for oil 60 miles north of the Falklands.

Geologists estimate there are up to 60billion barrels of oil in the seabed.

The Argentine government has tabled a UN resolution condemning the plan. It has also secured backing from 32 South American nations supporting its claim that Britain has occupied the islands illegally since 1833.

The Falklands remains an emotive issue in Argentina and offers a way for a populist president to whip up public support.

Mrs Kirchner issued a presidential decree last month forcing ships sailing to the Falklands from Argentina to seek a permit, after learning that an oil rig was to start exploratory drilling.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he did not expect any direct contact between Mr Brown and Mrs Kirchner on the issue and said Britain had given no thought to any military response.

President Obama 'to slash America's nuclear arsenal by thousands'

A major rethink of America's nuclear strategy could mean the end of production of bunkerbusters, such as this 5000lb GBU-37 at a military base in Missouri

President Obama is set to announce plans for drastic reductions in America's nuclear arsenal.

Officials say thousands of weapons would be cut from their stockpile as part of a major rethink on U.S. nuclear strategy.

It is understood that the review would lead to America halting production of any new weapons with nuclear capability.
These include 'bunkerbuster' bombs that were ordered into development by the Bush administration.

Nuclear weapons at U.S. bases in Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Turkey, the Netherlands and Italy, could also be withdrawn.

America has not confirmed or denied whether bases in Britain are equipped with nuclear weapons.
Another part of the review would allow Russia and China access to military bases in the U.S. to show that nuclear weapons are not in use.

However one suggestion under discussion, that the U.S. declares it would never use nuclear weapons, has been ruled out by the president, who has spoken before of his dream of a world free from nuclear weapons.

Mr Obama's new strategy, which some right-wing critics have described as 'naive and dangerous', will be contained in a document called the Nuclear Posture Review.

Senior administration officials said it would cancel several initiatives set in motion by former president George W Bush, most notably the development of 'bunker busters' which Pentagon chiefs said could be used to strike hidden targets, such as the nuclear facilities in North Korea and Iran.

Aides said Mr Obama believes he cannot urge other countries not to seek new weapons while the U.S. continues its own developments.

11 justices to debate ban on Palestinian spouses in Israel - Palestinian Cabinet stakes claim amid shrine furor

Palestinian youths throw stones at Israeli soldiers, not seen, during clashes in the West Bank city of Hebron, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. Palestinians have been violently protesting in Hebron since Israel declared last week that it would add the Cave of Patriarchs to its list of national heritage sites.


Jewish settler children, dressed in costumes, walk next to the Tomb of the Patriarchs following the annual parade marking the Jewish holiday of Purim in the divided West Bank town of Hebron, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. The festival of Purim commemorates the rescue of Jews from genocide in ancient Persia.



A Jewish settler stands on a horse with the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the background as he participates in the annual parade marking the Jewish holiday of Purim in the divided West Bank town of Hebron, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. The festival of Purim commemorates the rescue of Jews from genocide in ancient Persia.


A panel of 11 Supreme Court Justices will meet this morning to deliberate an issue of considerable public dispute - the Citizenship Law amendment preventing Palestinians married to Arab Israelis from becoming Israeli residents or citizens.

Four petitions have been filed against the amendment, by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Hamoked Center for the Defense of the Individual, Adalah and former Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On.

Its opponents say it is unconstitutional because it violates the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty, and damages the right to raise a family in Israel regardless of national or ethnic criteria.

During deliberations before a panel of seven justices on petitions filed a year ago, state attorney Yochi Gnesin said that the problem lies in Palestinians' overwhelming support for terrorism against Israel.

"We cannot foresee when and at which stage a person will decide to carry out an attack or aid his cousin to bring a bomb into Israel," she said.

Gnesin also said that a person with Israeli residency becomes more attractive to terrorists, and that a year or so after becoming a resident, "links up with terrorists."

As such, she argued that Shin Bet scrutiny of potential residents is not enough to ensure these people are not involved in terrorism.

Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch noted then that "the temporary nature [of the amendment] is temporary," criticizing the state's repeated extensions for the "temporary" amendment.

Gnesin excused the extension by citing the security situation and the need to prevent terrorism.

Dan Yakir, the ACRI's legal counselor, said the amendment should be evaluated in terms of its broader implications, due to how it violates couples' rights.

Yakir also noted that in spite the "security difficulties," the defense establishment authorized the entry of some 20,000 Palestinians to work in Israel, showing that when economic interests are concerned, the defense establishment can evaluate the risk posed by Palestinians.

Ahead of the deliberations, four organizations asked to be included among those responding to the petitions: Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center, Fence for Life, Im Tirtzu and the New Zionist movement.

The New Zionist movement said that the petitions against the constitutionality of the amendment threaten the country's existence as the Jewish homeland, and that doing away with the law will increase the Arab population by 200,000 "persons hostile to the Zionist enterprise."

Dr. Allan Bower, who was injured along with his son Jonathan in central Jerusalem in a terrorist attack eight years ago, told Haaretz that if the amendment is canceled, terrorism could increase.

"If the amendment is canceled, Palestinian terrorists may use this to harm Israel. The problem in Israel is that responsibility is never taken for negligence that results in increased terrorism against Israelis," he said.


Palestinian Cabinet stakes claim amid shrine furor


The Palestinian Cabinet moved its weekly meeting to Hebron on Monday, a symbolic protest against Israel's addition of a contested shrine in this volatile West Bank city to its list of national heritage sites.

Israel's decision last week drew widespread international criticism and heightened Palestinian suspicions of Israel at a time when the U.S. is trying to restart peace talks.

Israelis and Palestinians have clashed frequently in the past over two West Bank shrines added to the heritage list: the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem.

The city's brewing tensions were on sharp display on Monday, when a group of settler youths, some as young as 4 years old, threw rocks and cursed at Palestinians not far from the traditional grave of Abraham, considered the father of both Judaism and Islam.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced Israel's move as an "attack on the holy places," and his Islamic militant Hamas rivals in Gaza called for a new uprising. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision was about preserving culture, and not connected to politics.

Over the past week, Palestinian stone-throwers have clashed almost daily with Israeli troops in Hebron, a divided city where 500 Jewish settlers live in heavily guarded enclaves amid 170,000 Palestinians.

The Cabinet session came a day after Israeli police forces dispersed masked Palestinian rioters at Jerusalem's most contentious holy site. And early Monday, gunmen opened fire at an Israeli security vehicle in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, lightly injuring a security guard, police said.

Netanyahu has tried to calm tensions, saying the plan was to protect the holy sites and without infringing on Muslim freedom of worship.

However, Palestinians fear the decision is another sign that Netanyahu wants to hang on to significant parts of the West Bank, a territory they want for their future Palestinian state, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad convened his Cabinet at the Hebron governor's office Monday, instead of its usual venue in the city of Ramallah. The ministers were greeted by a military honor guard.

Fayyad condemned Israel's decision on the holy sites but also appealed for calm.

"We are not going to be drawn into a cycle of violence," Fayyad told The Associated Press. "We are fully determined, and we count on our people understanding fully well that the best response to this ... is to stay focused" on state-building.

The disputed shrine in Hebron is a 2,000-year-old fortress-like structure built where tradition says Abraham and other biblical patriarchs are buried. Muslims call it the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Israel partitioned the shrine, keeping apart Muslims and Jews, after an Israeli settler gunned down 29 Muslim worshippers there in February 1994, before being bludgeoned to death.

Hebron Mayor Khaled Osaily said the city's Palestinians are deeply suspicious. "The settlers came here for one reason, they want to claim that this is Jewish heritage, and not only for the mosque, but for the whole city of Hebron," he said.

Netanyahu's move has also drawn international criticism. In Brussels, the EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, called the Israeli move "detrimental to attempts to relaunch peace negotiations."

Visiting U.S. Sen. John Kerry told reporters in Jerusalem Monday that he understood the Israeli leader's desire to preserve a historical site. "But the timing and the manner of the announcement needs to be taken into account in the future," Kerry said.

Kerry said he hoped the clashes would prove to be no more than a "hiccup" toward getting U.S.-mediated peace talks back underway — a process that could resume in the coming weeks.

Also Monday, a Palestinian militant in the Gaza Strip was killed by an Israeli tank shell close to the border with Israel, Palestinian medics said. The Israeli military said the tank fire was aimed at militants preparing to plant a bomb along the border fence.

Dubai assassins drag America into row over fake passports- View the hit list photos. - View real photos of hit group in hotel

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Roy Cannon?s identity was used to enter America

The United States was dragged yesterday into the international row over the murder of a top Hamas official in Dubai with the disclosure that two of the suspected assassins fled to America.

The Dubai police believe that at least two of the 27-strong team that killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a founder of the Palestinian group’s military wing, used fake passports to enter the United States after the murder on January 19.

Sources close to the case told The Times that one of the suspects entered the United States using a British passport in the name of Roy Cannon, a Briton living in Israel, whose family say that his identity was stolen by the team that carried out the killing.

The disclosure could strain US-Israeli relations because it suggests that the suspected Israeli agents may have violated American law by using false passports to enter the country.

Dubai police have already traced credit cards used by the suspected assassins to the US-based MetaBank and Payoneer Inc, a card distributor. Payoneer, a company founded in New York in 2005 with offices in Israel, is run by Yuval Tal, who appeared as a television commentator on Fox News during the 2006 Lebanon war identifying himself as a former Israeli special forces soldier.

A day after Mr al-Mabhouh’s body was found, a suspect carrying an Irish passport in the name of Evan Dennings entered the United States, The Wall Street Journal said. Dubai authorities had previously said that the person purporting to be Mr Dennings left the emirate on January 20 for Zurich.

The suspect passing himself off as Mr Cannon later entered the United States on February 14, the newspaper said.

There are no records of either suspect leaving the United States — although they could have done so using other passports.

The police chief of Dubai said that the suspects would not have dared to use American passports for the clandestine operation.

“I think Israel was scared of provoking a clash with the United States, which it considers its best friend,” Lieutenant-General Dahi Khalfan Tamim told al-Khaleej newspaper.

The police chief told a press conference yesterday that he believed that all the named suspects in the case had now returned to Israel. “All of them [are in Israel]. These are agents for the Mossad, we know this,” Mr Tamim told reporters in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

“They travelled to European countries and to the US using the same documents they used to enter here.”

Dubai announced yesterday that it would bar Israelis travelling on other passports from entering its territory by studying their faces. Mr Tamim said that officers would be trained to recognise Israelis from their “physical features and the way they speak”.

The intention is to ban all Israelis from the United Arab Emirates even if they hold British or another dual nationality. “We will not allow those who hold Israeli passports into the UAE, no matter what other passport they have,” Mr Tamim said.

In all, Dubai police have named 12 British passport holders among the suspects. All are believed to be UK citizens resident in Israel and victims of identity theft.

• A Lebanese man arrested last month on suspicion of spying for Israel has confessed to involvement in a bomb attack in 2004 that killed Ghaleb Awali, a senior Hezbollah official, a Lebanese security source told reporters yesterday.

Melvyn Adam Mildiner

This passport picture is of a man who claimed to be Melvyn Adam Mildiner, 31. The real Mr Mildiner moved to Israel from Britain nine years ago. He lives near Jerusalem and says he has never been to Dubai or lost a passport. The date of birth and photograph used there do not match his. "I have no idea how to clear my name. Interpol has a warrant out for my arrest. I don’t know how I will travel. I went to bed with pneumonia and woke up a ’murderer’," he told the Jerusalem Post

Paul John Keeley

This passport picture is of a man who claimed to be Paul John Keeley, 42. The gang used false hair and beards. The real Paul John Keeley was born in Yalding near Maidstone but emigrated to Israel about 15 years ago. He has two children with his wife, Sifa; the family live on the Naehsholim Hof Kibbutz near Tel Aviv. He last left Israel in 2008 on a trip to Turkey. "It’s scary when someone steals your identity," he said. The photograph "doesn’t even look like me. I’m just a father, a husband and a kibbutz resident"

Stephen Daniel Hodes

This passport photo is said to be of Stephen Daniel Hodes, 37. The real Mr Hodes is a physiotherapist who moved to Israel from his native Salford over ten years ago. He now works at the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. He is married with two children and his parents also relocated to Israel. "I have never been to Dubai. I don’t know what is happening. I am simply afraid," he said

Jonathan Louis Graham

This passport picture is of a man who claimed to be Jonathan Louis Graham, 31. The real Mr Graham is an IT worker from Hertfordshire who moved to Israel three to four years ago. He is married with two young children. Former neighbours described them as a devout and community-minded family. "I’ve got enough of my own life to deal with. It’s not me," he said. His parents have also moved to Israel

Michael Lawrence Barney

This passport photo is said to be of Michael Lawrence Barney, 54. The real Mr Barney was born and brought up in Stoke Newington, North London, and moved to Israel in the 1970s to work on a kibbutz. He now writes software manuals, has three children, and has undergone quadruple heart bypass surgery. "I was shocked. My picture is being beamed around the world and I’m being called a terrorist," he said. "I’m not exactly spy material"

James Leonard Clarke

This passport photo is said to be of James Leonard Clarke, 49. The real Mr Clarke, from East Sussex, moved to Israel several years ago. Details on the passport used in Dubai appear to match his

Hit squads in Hotel following their target.

Relatives sit underneath posters bearing the photograph of al-Mabhouh in a home in the Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip. Hamas accused Israeli agents of carrying out the killing and said it would retaliate

Pictures released by Dubai police of the suspects. The passports were forged or the identities of innocent people had been used: (From left to right, top row) They used the following identities: Evan Dennings of Irish nationality, Gail Folliard of Irish nationality, James Leonard Clarke of British nationality, Jonathan Louis Graham of British nationality; (From left to right, middle row) Michael Bodenheimer of German nationality, Paul John Keeley of British nationality, Michael Lawrence Barney of British nationality; (From left to right, bottom row) Peter Elvinger of French nationality, Kevin Daveron of Irish nationality, Melvyn Adam Mildiner of British nationality, Stephen Daniel Hodes of British nationality

A hit squad is suspected of the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh at Al Bustan Rotana hotel in Dubai in room 230 on January 20

The murder was uncovered days later when local security services were told who the victim was. Al-Mabhouh had also been travelling under a false passport. The writing in Arabic reads: "Your fingerprints are everywhere ... we promise to continue in your path," and "the martyr the leader Mahmoud Abed el-Raouf al-Mabhouh"

The mother of captured and killed soldier Ilan Saadon displays her son’s portait in her house in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon. Israel believes al- Mabhouh was responsible for the abduction and murder



Al-Mabhouh took no notice of the two men who joined him in the lift on the short ride to the second floor. Dressed in sports gear and carrying tennis rackets, they looked like any other European tourists in the Gulf. He did not realise that they were part of the team who had come to kill him.

The cause of his death was initially believed to be an increase of blood pressure in the brain. The Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, bottom left, marches with mourners carrying al-Mabhouh’s coffin. The funeral took place in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, near Damascus, Syria

The men followed their target to his room, saw its number - 230 - and the one across the hall - 237. A call was then made and one of the men - using the name Peter Elvinger - booked room 237 from the business suite of another hotel. Five hours later al-Mabhouh was dead

The father of a senior Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh with his son’s picture at his home in the northern Gaza Strip. When al-Mabhouh returned to the hotel at 8.24pm his killers were in place. Police believe he was asphyxiated. By 8.46pm the four killers are shown leaving the second floor, followed closely by their spotters in room 237. Two hours later the team boarded planes to France, Hong Kong and South Africa before doubling back to Europe. Al-Mahbouh’s body was not found until 1.30pm the following afternoon. His room showed no sign of forced entry




After checking into hotels the previous night, a woman, whose passport bore the name Gail Folliard, joins others at a shopping centre to finalise details of the hit


Mahmoud al-Mabhouh touched down in Dubai around 3pm from Damascus to arrange a shipment of weapons to Gaza. Hamas has not explained why one of its senior commanders, a marked man with several assassination attempts against him already, should have arrived alone without any security. He is seen here at the top of the picture checking in wearing a dark suit



There was no security camera covering the door to al-Mabhouh’s room and no footage of how the team gained entry. The woman in the squad known as Gail Folliard patrolled the corridor outside. She was seen to distract a hotel guest who appeared at the second floor lift for a few vital seconds to give the killers time to gain access to the room




Al-Mabhouh was last seen alive leaving the lift after a short visit out of the hotel, apparently to meet a contact. While he was out the killers moved swiftly into place. Four burly men arrived in room 237. Al-Mabhouh returned to the room in which he was killed

Another of the suspects arrives at the shopping centre. The killers had lain in wait for al-Mabhouh, whom Hamas admits was involved in the killing of two Israeli soldiers in 1989, since the previous night

The group switched hotels several times and wore disguises including false beards and wigs. Surveillance teams rotated in pairs through the hotel lobby never hanging around for too long and paying for everything in cash. One of the suspects went into the toilet and emerged dressed in a wig and glasses



Flying in from Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Zurich, the team arrived within three hours of each other. In this picture two of the suspects make it through border security in Dubai with their false identities before heading to the luxury hotel



The hit-squad’ travelled under fake British, Irish, French and German passports to enter the country. The Dubai authorities released the names and photos of the 10 men and a woman wanted for the murder. There are now thought to be 17 people who took part. Gordon Brown has called for an investigation in to the use of British passports



The Hamas chief was followed by his alleged killers throughout the day. CCTV released by Dubai police show surveillance teams rotating in pairs awaiting his arrival at the luxury hotel

Battle zone: troops tackle post-quake unrest - Chile deaths upto 700 , widespread looting , soldiers patrol the streets.

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Confusion, frustration: Chilean soldiers patrol the streets to quell looting
Reports from Chile's second-largest city, Concepcion, describe it as a battle zone in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit the country.

The death toll from the magnitude 8.8 quake is above 700, with coastal Concepcion one of the worst hit.

The city of 700,000 people was closest to the epicentre of the quake and the damage has been extensive, with electricity and water still out and several shops on fire.

Looters are stealing food, water and clothing from nearby stores despite a dusk-to-dawn curfew and the presence of thousands of troops.

Concepcion mayor Jacqueline Van Ryselberghe voiced the frustration many are feeling.

"We need the military on the streets, we need them," she said.

"The general population just doesn't know what to do. Business owners are starting to defend themselves, they are starting to arm themselves."

Rescue workers are still picking through the debris to reach survivors and in one apartment block they could hear knocking from inside the collapsed walls.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is expected to arrive tomorrow in Santiago on a previously planned trip to Latin America, with the city still experiencing aftershocks from the quake.

Aid is coming in from around the world, including Australia, which has offered $1 million initially in emergency assistance and another $4 million for reconstruction.

Authorities in Chile have set up shuttle flights between the capital, Santiago and Concepcion and are expecting to deliver more than 100 tonnes of food aid in the next few hours.

Terrifying aftershocks

There are about 400 Australians in Chile, with many working for local companies. Most of them live near Santiago - 400 kilometres from the epicentre - but even there the experience has been frightening.

Eye witness Amy Yacoub's husband Simon works for engineering company SKM, and she was asleep on the 13th floor of her building when the quake struck.

"The buildings are all structured and designed to separate and move apart in an earthquake, so we did watch a wall open up in front of us and that was a bit terrifying," she said.

"Then, with the aftershocks that have been rolling through, they are quite nerve-wracking and fortunately we have had nothing like we had.

"I think they reported it was about an 8.0 in Santiago, so we are still having aftershocks that can be up to 6.0.

"Generally we can hear more plaster coming off our walls and then for us, because we are a little bit higher, we get the swaying motion ... our building sways.

"People are very concerned and still trying to get in contact with a lot of family members and friends in Concepcion, because telephone lines aren't working or communication isn't open everywhere.

"Even in Santiago some people are still without power and communication."

Ms Yacoub's friend Kate Lewin lives above her on the 20th floor, and described the experience as "terrifying".

"It happened so quickly that you actually don't have time to be scared, but I just flew into protective mode," she said.

"We have got three-year-old twin girls and I just raced to their room, got them together in one bed and put pillows over our head and just thought this is it - whatever it may be. I just thought this was it."


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National catastrophe declared in France after winter storms claim 51 lives

France has declared a state of 'national catastrophe' after the fiercest storms in a decade left 51 people dead.

Hurricane-force winds and widespread flooding battered vast swathes of western France and left more than a million homes without power.

Trees were uprooted, roofs ripped from buildings and sea walls smashed as 30ft waves surged inland over the weekend.
Across Europe, the death toll from the storm stands at 62.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered an inquiry into why the country was taken unaware by the storm, demanding answers within ten days.

On a visit to Aiguillon-sur-Mer, on the Atlantic coast, Mr Sarkozy expressed his condolences to the families of victims and praised the work of rescuers.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said Brussels was ready to come to the aid of the worst-hit nations, 'starting with France'.

In Paris, hundreds of buildings were damaged, motorcyclists were blown across streets and 100mph winds were recorded at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Many of the French dead were elderly people who 'drowned in their own homes' in low-lying areas along the Atlantic coast.

Others perished after being hit by falling trees in the most violent weather in France since 1999, when 90 people died.

Three people died in Spain, one was killed in Germany and a child was crushed to death in Portugal.

The storm also hit Belgium, with one death reported there. Although Britain was not hit, London's Thames Barrier - the capital's flood defence - was closed on Sunday morning as a precaution.

Nearly 900,000 people in France were without electricity. Rivers overflowed their banks in Brittany, while high tides and enormous waves swamped Atlantic Ocean communities in the early morning hours.

Sea walls broke in the town of L'Aguillon, where the ocean waters reached the roofs of some homes. Helicopters lifted people to safety throughout the day.
A retired couple who had parked their camping car on the waterfront in the town Moutier-en-Retz died when the vehicle was swallowed by rushing waters and they could not make it to firm ground.

The threat of avalanches was high in the Pyrenees Mountains and the southern Alps due to wind and wet snow. Roofs were ripped off, chimneys collapsed and the wind shattered the windows at a brewery in eastern France.

In Paris, winds knocked over motorcycles and spewed garbage around the streets of the capital.

Flights were delayed and at least 100 were cancelled at the two main Paris airports. A number of trains throughout France were delayed because of flooded tracks.

Winds reached about 130 mph (200 kph) on the summits of the Pyrenees and up to nearly 100 mph (160 kph) along the Atlantic Coast. The storm hit the Vendee and Charente-Maritime regions in southwestern France hardest, flooding coastal islands and tossing boats around in ports.
The storm was moving eastward and parts of France along the border with Germany and Belgium were on alert for heavy rain and high winds.

Officials say scores of flights and trains have been cancelled or delayed in southwestern Germany.

One person was killed in the Black Forest area when winds brought a tree down onto his car in the Sunday afternoon storm.

Fallen trees also closed many stretches of train tracks in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland.
High winds caused the cancellation of 119 flights from Frankfurt airport while scores of others were delayed or diverted.

Xynthia hit Belgium in mid-afternoon. One man was killed by a falling tree in his garden in Jodoigne, southern Belgium, broadcaster VRT reported. High winds also brought down some electricity lines, leaving many without power in the south of the country.

In Spain, the interior minister said three people were killed by hurricane-strength winds and heavy rainfall that lashed the country's northern regions over the weekend.

Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the storm had been intense in certain regions and had caused the deaths of a woman in northwestern Ourense and of two people whose car was hit by a falling tree in Arlanzon just north of Madrid.
The national weather agency had warned that a violent cyclone depression had formed over the Atlantic Ocean and was to cross areas bordering the Bay of Biscay.

Winds gusting up to 118 mph (190 kph) had blown over the Canary Islands overnight Friday causing a crane to collapse on a building, lampposts to fall onto parked cars and forcing flight cancellations.

Portugal's home affairs minister Rui Pereira said a child had been killed Saturday by a falling tree in Paredes.

The 10-year-old had been playing ball near a church while waiting to go to a prayer meeting when a branch crushed him, Pereira said.


An aerial view taken from an helicopter shows flooded houses and streets on the Atlantic coast between La Rochelle and L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer, western France

Mangled sailing boats lie in a sorry heap in La Rochelle

A tree trunk lies across a sports car at the Wildparkstadium in Karlsuhe, Germany

La Faute in southwestern France was also flooded after Xynthia struck leaving 51 people dead

A young boy in La Rochelle is rescued from floods by a helicopter

Parts of a roof were hurled onto cars in Sarbruecken, Germany

A coastal road is seen destroyed by fierce storms near L'Aguillon sur Mer, France

Residents of flooded quarters evacuate their houses in Guincamp, France, after the area was battered by Xynthia

A yacht is partially submerged after hurricane force winds in the port of La Rochelle, western France

Waves break along the shore of A Guarda, northwestern Spain

Residents in La Rochelle, south western France, walk on a road damaged by heavy floods

The roof of an apartment building hangs precariously after Xynthia passed through Mainz, western Germany

Violent storms kill at least 15 in France

Violent storms swept through France over the weekend, killing at least 15 people,
officials said.

Fierce rain and strong winds have left at least 12 people dead across France as a violent winter storm battered the country.

Most of the victims drowned, while others died when hit by parts of buildings or trees that were ripped off in the winds.

Nearly 900,000 people were without electricity Sunday.

Winds reached about 200 kilometers (120 mph) on the summits of the Pyrenees Mountains and about 150 kilometers (90 mph) along the Atlantic Coast.

Local authorities said three people died on Saturday and another 12 on Sunday and warned the toll could rise. Some drowned while others were hit by falling trees and branches.

South-west coastal regions of France, Vendee and Charente Maritime, were among those worst affected.

The storm also cut off electricity to more than 1 million residents said ErDF, the distribution arm of French energy group EDF. The cuts centered on Brittany and central France.

Weather forecasters said the storm, named Xynthia, had headed to France's north-east and would then hit Belgium and Luxembourg.

Gusts of wind reaching 100 km (60 miles) per hour had already battered France's northern regions by 1207 GMT (7:07 a.m. EST), Meteo France said on its website.

But it said the storms appeared less fierce than those that hit France in December 1999, in which 92 people were killed.

French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde on Sunday reminded insurers that multi-risk residence insurance covered damage caused by strong winds and called for the speedy processing of storm-related claims.

Troops enforce curfew in quake-stricken towns-Widespread looting

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Looters run from a supermarket in quake-ravaged Concepcion.

Chileans in the capital Santiago and further south near the epicentre of the weekend's devastating earthquake are passing an uneasy night broken by aftershocks.

The death toll from the massive quake that struck the Latin American nation on Saturday night has risen to more than 700, as reports emerge of coastal towns devastated by the tremors and tsunami that followed.

President Michelle Bachelet said she expected the death toll to rise. More than 400 Australians are believed to have been in Chile when the 8.8-magnitude quake hit.

Residents in the city of Concepcion are under curfew, with police struggling to control looting in the city as people steal everything from microwave ovens to canned milk.

At least 160 people were detained and one person was shot dead during the curfew as the army was called in to help the overwhelmed police force.

There is no drinking water in Concepcion and the city is still cut off from the rest of the country and the world more than 48 hours after the earthquake.

Carolina Gutierrez is a Santiago resident. Her aunt, uncle and their three children are in the city. She sent a message to the family who were OK, but did not have any electricity or water.

"They're very worried about going outdoors because there's also been people stealing, like breaking in some supermarkets and some stores taking advantage of the situation," she said.

Ms Gutierrez says basic food items like bread have tripled in price and she is worried for her family.

"I'm still concerned because if they don't even have water for maybe one day it could be fine, but then another day or three days it's going to be a problem," she said.

Across Chile the death toll has expanded due to a tsunami triggered by the massive earthquake. Coastal towns have been swept away, leaving survivors traumatised.

"My mother and my father are missing and nobody moves. The authorities don't do a thing. I fear that they are dead," one man said.

"I was with my wife and my parents. I couldn't start the car, then it swept us away," another man said.

"I was trying to save her and something hit me. I was drowning. I left her standing on something. I can't find my wife."

Desperation

Chile's ambassador to the UN, Heraldo Munoz, told the BBC the looting can be understood to a certain extent due to people's desperation.

"When it actually happens in this magnitude it is something totally different. You don't have any electricity. You don't have water. You're isolated, as has happened with many communities," he said.

"Then there's desperation - 'what is going to be my next meal?' And that is what is happening to families with children, with seniors and that's why some are desperate and they will turn to looting. Others are simply petty criminals."

But Mr Munoz says as bad as the situation is, it could have been worse.

"Chile is a country with a history of earthquakes, so perhaps we would be lamenting deaths in the many, many thousands," he said.

"A quake of this nature - this was 8.8 and the tragedy in Haiti was 7.0 and it was well above 100,000 people dead. We have to find comfort at least in that, even though the material destruction has been monumental."

Chile has sent out an international call, listing their aid requirements.

Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) have held talks with the Chilean embassy, working out what role Australia can play in aid and longer-term reconstruction.

Japan has announced it will send an emergency medical team.

While night has fallen over Chile, Ms Gutierrez says many people cannot sleep with aftershocks still shaking Santiago.

"The aftershocks are very scary. I just felt one half an hour ago, 20 minutes ago I felt one. They were very big ones and I woke up this morning to a big one. It was 6 on the Richter scale," she said.

"After having lived through the big earthquake it's not as much, but it's still scary because you never know."

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's Ice the super husky

Canine in command: Ice poses regally in her Superman outfit in China

Here she comes to save the day: Ice has become an internet sensation

A pet dog has become an internet sensation after its owner posted a series of pictures of it online dressed as Superman.

The pictures of five-year-old husky Ice disguised as the caped crusader have garnered rave reviews from delighted fans.

One viewer even reported laughing so much he fell out of his chair.

In the pictures, Ice is seen posing in her outfit as well as running through a park, her cape streaming behind her.

Huskies are extremely intelligent dogs and are affectionate with calm temperaments.