10 METRO Friday, October 30, 2009 D METROWorld AFGHANISTAN: Two workers make the final touches to a giant pre-election poster in Kabul of the current President Hamid Karzai, who is a candidate in the re- run elections on November 7 Picture: Reuters IRAQ: Dozens of military and security personnel have been arrested over the attacks in Baghdad that killed 155 people. The military said 11 army officers and 50 security officials have been taken into custody over Sundays bombings the worst attacks in Iraq in more than two years but did not say whether they were suspected of involvement or held for neglect of duty in not preventing the attacks. The blasts at the Justice Ministry and the Baghdad Provincial Administration caused outrage among many Iraqis, who question the ability of the government to protect its people ahead of Januarys parliamentary elections and the withdrawal of US troops. AMERICA: The government would have tried to extradite the Lockerbie bomber if it had known he could be freed from a Scottish jail, the US ambassador to Britain has said. During his first official visit to Scotland, Louis B Susman said the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi (pictured) strained relations between the US and Scotland but had caused no lasting damage. The decision by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to free Megrahi on compassionate grounds in August this year prompted fury among US relatives of the bombing. VEnEzuElA: The countrys professional football teams will begin playing matches at 3pm rather than 6pm to avoid having to use stadium lights, after President Hugo Chavezs call to conserve energy. A drought lasting months has left water levels lows in dams and caused frequent blackouts as most of the countrys electricity is provided by hydroelectric power. AMERICA: The first criminal trial of a member of the polygamist Yearning For Zion ranch in Texas opened yesterday, with a prosecutor telling the jury Raymond Jessop sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl. Court documents filed separately claim the girl became one of the then 33-year-olds nine wives and had a daughter by him. Jessop (pictured) was one of 12 members of the breakaway Mormon sect charged after authorities raided the ranch last year and swept 439 children into foster care, with charges ranging from child abuse to bigamy. SCotlAnd: The two leaders of Scotlands biggest paedophile ring were jailed for life yesterday for child pornography and abuse, including the sexual assault of a three-month-old baby. HIV-positive convicted sex offender Neil Strachan, 41, was ordered to spend a minimum 16 years behind bars. James Rennie, 38, once a prominent gay youth worker, must spend at least 13 years in jail. The pair, both from Edinburgh, were also convicted of a string of child-porn charges, alongside six other men who have already been sentenced. Nearly 125,000 indecent images were seized during Operation Algebra, which reached around 200 individuals across the world. zIMBABWE: UN torture expert Manfred Nowak said yesterday he would recommend that the bodys Human Rights Council take action after he was expelled from the country. Mr Nowak (pictured), the councils special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, said he had been invited by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, whose power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe is under severe strain. The refusal to allow him entry was a misunderstanding or a deliberate action by members of Mugabes ZANU-PF party, he said. MAlAySIA: More than 15,000 Bibles imported from Indonesia were confiscated in recent months because they referred to God as Allah. Non- Muslims have been banned from using the word Allah in their texts in this Muslim-majority country, because authorities say the word is Islamic and may upset Muslims. But Catholic church officials say Allah is an Arabic word that predates Islam. Religious minorities have complained that their right to practice their faiths freely has come under threat as the government panders to the Muslim majority. The Bibles were in the Indonesian-language which is similar to Malaysian language, both of which use Allah as translation for God. Five arrested in gang-rape of teen at US high school danceFOUR teenagers have been charged in the gang-rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl outside her high school homecoming dance in California. The attack on Saturday night at Richmond High School happened after the girl had left the dance and was walking to meet her father for a ride home when a classmate invited her to join a group drinking in the courtyard. Police believe as many as ten people aged from 15 to mid-20s attacked the girl for more than two hours and up to two dozen people saw the rape without notifying police. Officers found the girl semiconscious near a picnic table after receiving a tip about a possible assault on campus from a former student. The four suspects aged 15, 16, 17 and 19 were charged with rape and enhancements that they acted in concert, which could make them eligible for life in prison. The minors, who were charged as adults because of the severity of the crime, each face one count of rape with a foreign object and the 16-year-old also faces robbery charges. The 19- year-old, Manuel Ortega, was charged with rape, robbery and assault causing great bodily injury. A fifth suspect, 21-year-old Salvador Rodriguez, remains in custody but has not been charged. Burglar Bunch are held over theftsBy thomas watkins Jewellery recovered: hilton A GROUP of celebrity-obsessed teenagers known as the Hollywood Burglar Bunch broke into stars homes, making off with millions of dollars worth of designer goods, af- ter tracking their movements online. The homes of stars such as Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton were ran- sacked in a spree that lasted almost a year. With a few clicks on the internet, the suspects developed a wish list of designer clothes and jewellery, then raided the homes while celebrities were away. They thought it was fun, kind of an adrenaline rush, LA police officer Brett Goodkin said. They would go in and steal the celebritys clothes and possessions, things they could never afford on their own. Police last week arrested four young women and two men on sus- picion of the burglary of ten homes in the Hollywood Hills. As well as Lohan and Hilton, other victims included The Hills star Aud- rina Patridge, Orlando Bloom, Meg- an Fox, Brian Austin Green, Ashley Tisdale and Rachel Bilson. After scouring celebrity blogs and websites, the group would find out where the stars lived. They would then watch a home, and break in through doors, windows and, in one case, a doggie door. The burglaries lasted from October 2008 until last month. Dozens of items of flashy, gem-en- crusted jewellery worth $2million (1.35m) were snatched at Hiltons home. The thieves then made off with it in the socialites Louis Vuitton bag. Most of the items have since been recovered by police. The suspects include 18-year-olds Rachel Lee, Courtney Ames and Alexis Neiers, and Diana Tamayo, who is 19. Nicholas Prugo, 18, was arrested last month in the same case on suspi- cion of breaking into the homes of Lohan and Patridge. A sixth suspect, 27-year-old Ray Lopez Jr, was also arrested. Police also sought Jonathan Ajar, also 27, for offences, including re- ceiving stolen property and posses- sion of a firearm. The robberies were driven by ce- lebrity infatuation and greed, Officer Goodkin said. Attorney Blair Berk representing some of the victims said that pictures published of the victims houses and possessions increased their vulnera- bility to theft. Its a celebrity envy thing. Its the new sociopath generation of I really like those Chanel boots. Instead of going out and buying them, they just steal them. Neiers, who had been the subject of a reality-TV pilot about aspiring ac- tresses, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, her attorney said. targeted: megan Fox Pictures: Getty Designer gear stolen: Lohan suspect: Jonathan akar index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html