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Former CIA Officer Charged With Retaining National Defence Information

A former CIA officer has been arrested in the US on charges of unlawful retention of classified information.

Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a naturalised US citizen, was held at New York’s JFK airport on Monday, the US justice department said. He worked for the CIA between 1994 and 2007, when he left for Hong Kong.

The case is thought to be linked to an FBI investigation, which began in 2012, into the crippling of the CIA’s spy operation in China. In the two years before, some 20 informants had been killed or jailed – one of the most disastrous failures of US intelligence in recent years. But officials did not know whether to blame a mole or data hack.

US media, quoting sources close to the inquiry, say investigators now suspect Mr Lee of helping China.

Mr Lee, also known as Zhen Cheng Li, served in the US Army from 1982-86, say court documents.

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Prominent Kosovo Serb Politician Killed Outside His Office

A prominent Kosovo Serb politician, Oliver Ivanovic, has been shot dead outside his party offices in the Serb-run north of Mitrovica.

Ivanovic, seen as a moderate Kosovo Serb leader, was shot four times in the chest and died later in hospital, his lawyer Nebojsa Vlajic said.

Serbian government negotiators walked out of EU-mediated talks with Kosovo Albanians in Brussels after the news. Kosovo remains ethnically divided since unilaterally splitting from Serbia. Mitrovica – in northern Kosovo – is divided, with the south run by Kosovo Albanians.

Ivanovic, 64, headed a Kosovo Serb party called Freedom, Democracy, Justice. He had played a leading role in negotiations with Nato and the EU. He was facing a retrial for alleged war crimes against ethnic Albanians committed in 1999.

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Old Bailey Hears How British Man Was Preparing Acts Of Terrorism

Big Ben and Heathrow Airport were among landmarks targeted by a British man who was “fascinated” by the so-called Islamic State, a court has heard.

Umar Ahmed Haque, 25, from east London, denies preparing acts of terrorism. He is on trial at the Old Bailey in London alongside three other men, aged between 19 and 27.

Mark Heywood QC, opening the case, said Mr Haque had decided to “carry out one or more violent attacks” in the UK and had “identified methods and targets”.

The court heard his other intended targets included the the courts, Transport for London, Shia Muslims, Westfield shopping centres, banks, the City of London, Parliament, the English Defence League or Britain First, foreign embassies and media stations.

Mr Heywood said the defendant was “fascinated” by the “warped and extreme ideology” of the banned Islamic State group, and that after arrest he told police that “he was their loyal follower”. Abuthaher Mamun, 19, is accused of assisting him and Muhammad Abid, 27, is charged with failing to tell the authorities about the alleged plans. Nadeem Patel, 26, denies conspiring with Mr Haque to possess a firearm or imitation firearm with the intention of causing fear of violence.

Two Russian Bombers Intercepted By RAF

Two Russian Blackjack bombers were intercepted by the RAF over the North Sea as they were approaching a UK “area of interest”, the RAF has confirmed.

Two RAF Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland on Monday morning.

An RAF spokesman said a “variety of friendly nation fighters” initially monitored the Russian aircraft, before the RAF moved to intercept them. The Russian aircraft did not enter sovereign UK airspace, he said. The spokesman added: “We can confirm that Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth scrambled to monitor two Blackjack bombers approaching the UK area of interest. “The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea. At no point did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign UK airspace.”

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Dozens Injured And Killed In Suicide Bombing In Baghdad

At least 35 people have been killed in a double suicide bombing in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, medical sources say, the second attack in three days.

More than 90 were injured in the attack in Tayaran Square, in the city centre.

Baghdad has repeatedly been the target of bombings and armed attacks since the Islamic State (IS) group overran large areas of the country in 2014. However, the pace of attacks has slowed since Iraq’s government declared it had retaken all the territory last month.

Monday’s attack was carried out by two men wearing suicide vests packed with explosives, the interior ministry said. The site of the attack is a busy square where large crowds of construction workers gather to find work every morning. It has been targeted by militants in the past.

Later on Monday, two civilians were killed and six others wounded by a bomb explosion in the north-eastern district of Jamila, medical and security sources said.

The suicide bombings in Tayaran Square were designed to maximise casualties, as is often the case, with one bomb swiftly followed by another.

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