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Monday, March 19, 2012

Jewish school under attack in France

There were "several dead" in the shooting Monday morning at the school in Toulouse.  A shooter has opened fire in front of a Jewish school in a southwest French city killing several people, the Toulouse prosecutor said Monday. Michel Valet told The Associated Press that there were "several dead" in the shooting Monday morning at the school in Toulouse. He said it was unclear whether the victims were children. The shooting happened in the same area where a gunman on a motorbike opened fire on three uniformed paratroopers at a bank machine Thursday, killing two and critically wounding the other. The attack in the town of Montauban occurred not far from the soldiers  barracks. Four days earlier, a gunman on a motorbike shot and killed another paratrooper in Toulouse, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) away. Authorities said at the time that forensic analysis showed that the same weapon was used in the shootings in Montauban and Toulouse.

Manchester United beat Wolves

Manchester United beat Wolves 5-0 to move four points clear of City in English Premier League table. Reigning champions Manchester United won 5-0 away to 10-man Wolves on Sunday, moving four points clear of Manchester City at the top of the English Premier League. Goals from Jonny Evans, Antonio Valencia, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez s second-half double sent Wolves, already in the relegation zone, to the bottom of the table. The heavy defeat for the Molineux club was made worse by the 39th-minute red card shown to defender Ronald Zubar for two bookable offences. However, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson put his team s performance in perspective by telling Sky Sports: "It was okay, I don t think it was anything special. I think we ve taken our goals well. At 1-0 down, Wolves were not yet out of the game but they then saw Zubar, already shown a yellow card for a heavy challenge on Wayne Rooney, sent off by referee Anthony Taylor after diving in on Welbeck. United made Wolves pay by scoring two more goals before the break for a 3-0 half-time lead, with the unchallenged Valencia netting before setting up Welbeck for United s third goal in first half stoppage-time. Hernandez, completely unmarked, made it 4-0 with a close-range header in the 56th minute and minutes later he scored his second and United s fifth with a half-volley at the far post after getting on the end of Valencia s cross. Victory left United four points clear of title rivals City before their cross-town foes  match at home to Chelsea on Wednesday. Sunday s other Premier League match saw Newcastle win for the first time in five league matches as they reignited their push for a Champions League spot by beating Norwich 1-0. Papiss Cisse scored the only of the game in the 11th minute but Newcastle keeper Tim Krul had to save from Anthony Pilkington and Zak Whitbread before Steve Morison missed a late chance for Norwich. Victory left Newcastle five points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.

Plot to attack Israeli targets in Bangkok


Indian police say a bomb attack that wounded an Israeli diplomat's wife in New Delhi last month is connected to a suspected plot to attack Israeli targets in Bangkok that was blamed on a group of Iranian men. Israel has accused Iran of orchestrating those plots as well as a failed bombing in the former Soviet republic of Georgia that also targeted an Israeli diplomat. Iran has denied any involvement. Indian authorities had declined to implicate Iran in the Feb. 13 blast here that wounded the diplomat s wife and three others with a bomb attached to her car by a magnet. However, the investigation is increasingly centering on Iranians and those with ties to Iran. Last week, police arrested an Indian freelance journalist who reportedly worked for Iranian news organizations to investigate possible links to the bombing. Earlier this week, they issued arrest warrants for three Iranian men who had left the country. Delhi Police Commissioner B.K. Gupta told reporters Friday that one of those three men, Housan Afshar, had been in contact with Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, who was arrested in Malaysia and accused of involvement in the Bangkok blast. India was asking Interpol for assistance in finding and extraditing the men, according to foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin. "We have informed the Iranian ambassador of these developments so as to seek the cooperation of the Iranian authorities in bringing those involved in this dastardly attack to justice," he said in a statement. Police accused Sedaghatzadeh of being the operational head of the module that was planning the Bangkok attacks and said his arrest in Malaysia led them to Afshar. Gupta said police found that Afshar and the Indian journalist, Syed Mohammed Kazmi, had been in telephone contact. Police said the Iranians had performed reconnaissance at the Israeli Embassy last May before returning to Delhi in January and February to plan the attack. Two of the three accused left India before the attack and the third left shortly after, police said. Gupta said Kazmi was deeply involved in the reconnaissance. "He has been arrested as a facilitator and for being a part of the conspiracy. His questioning brought to light that he has been in contact with persons of Iranian origin involved in the attack for some time," Gupta told reporters. He said Kazmi told police he went to Iran twice last year, promised to provide assistance to the attackers in India and was paid $5,500. In addition to helping with surveillance of the embassy, Kazmi booked a plane ticket for one of the Iranian suspects to leave the country, Gupta said. 

Bolton footballer Fabrice Muamba “critical condition”


The 23-year-old Kinshasa-born player was rushed to hospital after harrowing scenes towards the end of the first half of an FA Cup quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday, when the midfielder slumped to the turf with no player near him. Sunday’s statement confirmed Muamba had suffered a cardiac arrest but added his heart had “eventually” started working. “He was admitted to the hospital Saturday evening after collapsing at White Hart Lane, where he sustained a cardiac arrest during the FA Cup Quarter Final against Tottenham Hotspur,” the statement said. Bolton footballer Fabrice Muamba was still in a “critical condition” in intensive care Sunday after suffering a cardiac arrest, a joint statement issued by the club and the London Chest Hospital said. “As is normal medical practice, Fabrice remains anaesthetised in intensive care and will be for at least 24 hours,” the statement added. “His condition continues to be closely monitored by the cardiac specialists at the hospital.”