Germany uncovers plot to blow up El Al plane

"BERLIN (Reuters) - German authorities are investigating a number of people in connection with what they suspect was a foiled plot to smuggle a bomb onto a passenger plane...German newspaper Die Welt cited security sources as saying the target was a plane of Israel's El Al airline...Several of the suspects had approached someone during the summer who had access to the security department at a German airport and who had expressed willingness to smuggle a suitcase or bag onto a plane for payment, a statement said...The suspects repeatedly made contact with the person but were unable to agree on a price for planting a bomb...

"The men are suspected of being members of a terrorist organization, the office said. It did not explain why the suspects, who remain under investigation, had been released." More.


Alexander Litvinenko in his hospital bed in a photo taken November 20, 2006. The former Russian intelligence officer fighting for his life in a London hospital after being poisoned was the target of a Kremlin-backed plot, a close friend said on Monday. It is a claim Moscow called "nonsense". Alex has publically said on numerous occasions that Russia's Federal Security Service still operates a secret Soviet-era poisons lab in Moscow.

+ From ice axes, to poisonous umbrella tips, deadly cups of tea and toxic sushi, Russia's spy service has often been the prime suspect in outlandish assassination attempts.
+ Bush Won't Commit to Iraq Troop Changes +++ Afghanistan's fledgling army needs greater Western help to boost firepower, air support and communications gear to enable the country to fight off a rising Taliban insurgency +++ Canada: Taliban in Kandahar area set to bounce back ++
+ Egyptian police found 2-1/4 tonnes of explosives and large quantities of weapons, including anti-tank mines and rocket-propelled grenades in central Sinai ++
+ A British man survived a knife attack on Monday in Saudi Arabia, state media said, but it was not clear if the incident was linked to militant attacks against foreigners


Cpl Nathalie Leclerc from Montreal, Que., a medical technician with the Canadian Forces (CF) Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), treats a young boy with a fractured arm at the Canadian field hospital in Garhi Dopatta, Pakistan. The 200-member DART was deployed as part of Operation PLATEAU, the CF contribution to earthquake relief efforts in the Pakistan-administered region of Kashmir - where a 7.6 magnitude quake that struck Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan on October 8, 2005 did the most damage.

The DART provided primary medical care, temporary shelter, production of safe drinking water, and a limited specialist engineer capability prior to the onset of winter in the region. The DART coordinated its efforts with the government of Pakistan and the other aid agencies involved in the relief effort.

Photo by Sgt Frank Hudec, Canadian Forces Combat Camera