September 2013 - Page 6 of 7 - Armoured & Luxury

Syrian Minister says US strike would benefit al-Qaeda

September 2, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Any US military action against Syria would amount to “support for al-Qaeda and its affiliates,” Damascus has said.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad also told the BBC that armed groups backed by America – not Syrian troops – had used chemical weapons.

The US says it has evidence that Damascus used the nerve agent sarin in a deadly attack in August.

President Barack Obama has vowed punitive action but wants Congress to vote on the issue first.

The alleged chemical attack took place on 21 August in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. The US says more than 1,400 people were killed, including 426 children.

The French government has said it will hand over its own evidence to French lawmakers on Monday, linking the Syrian regime to the attack.

Gareth Bale heads to Madrid

September 2, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

From this moment on, he will be known as the 100m euro man. When he arrives in Madrid he will be accompanied to the Bernabeu by police outriders, pursuing paparazzi and passionate fans – the 11th galactico in the white number 11 shirt. His every appearance will bring with it a weight of expectation.

He will be feted and vilified, his life will come under the microscope like never before. But none of whatever triumph, disaster, heartache and adulation he faces in Madrid will be allowed to go to his head.

That is because Bale does not fit the stereotype of the world’s most expensive footballer. He does not drink alcohol, he is scared of spiders and he visits his mum in south Wales when he gets time off. The boy from north Cardiff has never found it hard to stay grounded.

Those closest to him describe him as beguilingly modest, polite and normal. His girlfriend, Emma Rhys-Jones, is his childhood sweetheart and most of his closest friends are from his schooldays. In public, he is understated, wary of saying anything that might be deemed boastful. No-one, it seems, has a bad word to say about him.

Egypt to try Ex-President Morsi for inciting murder

September 2, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Egypt’s state prosecutor says he has referred ousted President Mohammed Morsi for trial on charges of inciting the murder of protesters.

The accusations relate to violence outside the presidential palace in Cairo last December when at least seven people were killed in clashes.

Fourteen other members of the Muslim Brotherhood are to stand trial on the same charges.

Mr Morsi has been held at a secret location since he was deposed in July.

He faces a number of charges but this case is his first referral for trial.

Since he was ousted from power, the military-backed interim government has cracked down on Brotherhood supporters, who are demanding Mr Morsi’s reinstatement.

Last month, hundreds of protesters died when security forces stormed pro-Morsi camps in the capital.

Nelson Mandela home at last

September 2, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Nelson Mandela has spent his first night in almost three months at his home in Johannesburg after being discharged from hospital in Pretoria.

The former South African president, 95, was admitted in early June for a recurring lung infection.

Family members have spoken of their happiness at having Mr Mandela home again for the first time since 8 June.

However the South African government has said his condition remains critical and can sometimes be unstable.

Mr Mandela returned home by ambulance early on Sunday and would continue to receive intensive care there, a statement from the South African presidency said.

His suburban house in the suburb of Houghton has been “reconfigured” for his care.

However, the presidency said he would be readmitted to hospital should his condition warrant it.

The BBC’s Mike Wooldridge in Johannesburg says all this seems designed to reassure not just the Mandela family but the nation, too, that he should be no more vulnerable when his condition is unstable than he was in hospital in Pretoria.

US base in Afghanistan attacked by Taliban Bombers

September 2, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Taliban militants have attacked a US base in eastern Afghanistan, sparking a lengthy gun battle in which three insurgents were killed.

Reports say the attack on Torkham base in Nangarhar province unfolded after militants torched Nato supply trucks on the highway leading to the base.

Officials said that no Afghan or US soldiers died in the raid. The attackers did not enter the base.

But officials say the financial cost of the attack is likely to be immense.

Many Nato supply vehicles on the road to the base were left badly burned on the highway. Officials closed the Jalalabad-Torkham road – a key route for these vehicles – after the attack.

A Taliban spokesman told the BBC that the group was behind the raid.