12 METRO Friday, December 11, 2009 D METROWorld BRAZIL: A student is overrun by a line of charging riot police on horses during a protest against Federal District governor Jos Roberto Arruda as part of International Day Against Corruption Picture: AFP Pakistan: Five American Muslims arrested by police were directly connected to al-Qaeda and are suspected of planning terror attacks, it was alleged yesterday. US officials believe the five are men who were reported missing more than a week ago by their families in the Washington DC area. The families asked the FBI for help after finding a farewell video left showing scenes of war and casualties and saying Muslims must be defended. The men, aged 19 to 25, were picked up on Wednesday at a house in Sargodha in Pakistan. Police chief Usman Anwar said: They are proudly saying they are here for jihad. They are directly connected to al-Qaeda. Ukraine: A 25-year-old chemistry student has been killed by exploding bubble gum that tore off half of his face. The student accidentally dipped the gum into explosives he was using for studies. Vladimir Likhonos mistook the powder for the citric acid he habitually added to the gum to give it a sour taste. A police spokeswoman said Mr Likhonos, from the town of Konotop in the north-east of the country, blew off his jaw and most of the lower part of his face. She said that on the table where he had been working, investigators found about 100g of the suspected explosive, a powder that resembles citric acid but has yet to be identified. sOUtH africa: Dozens of immigration officials have been suspended while they are investigated for giving South African citizenship to foreigners, mainly from Pakistan. Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma (pictured) said the scheme constitutes a serious threat to national security. She said it allowed fraudsters to apply for South African passports that could be used for nefarious activities abroad. It is not clear how many such certificates were issued nor whether any had been used to get a passport. america: A man dressed as Santa Claus allegedly tried to kidnap a 12-year-old girl walking to school. Anthony Russo, 46, was later arrested on a bus, wearing the Santa suit, complete with pillow and beard, and carrying a sack, a large box of candy canes and a unicycle with Christmas decorations. Police in Parma, near Cleveland, said Russo (pictured) was hiding in bushes in costume and jumped out at the girl. He allegedly tried to get her into the bushes, but she walked off. He followed her and tried to grab her arm, but she then told a shop worker. aUstralia: A dehydrated fur seal pup was mysteriously found trying to cross a highway a few kilometres from a beach and nearly 300km from the nearest seal colony. A trucker spotted the 13lb (6kg) pup near the seaside town of Port Germein in South Australia state. She has improved. She doesnt like to stay in one place and shes grumpy, a vet said. BARACK OBAMA yesterday admitted sometimes it is necessary to go to war, as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. The US president, who has agreed to send an extra 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, said: We can understand that there will be war; and still strive for peace. Also, he said he was obliged to defend his country and sometimes that meant using force. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitlers armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaedas leaders to lay down their arms, Mr Obama said in Norways capital Oslo. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism, it is a recognition of history. The president laid out the circumstances where war is justified in self-defence, to come to the aid of an invaded nation, or on humanitarian grounds, such as when civilians are slaughtered by their own government or a civil war threatens to engulf an entire region. The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it, he said. Acknowledging that his track record on achieving peace pales in comparison to previ- ous winners such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, he said: My accomplish- ments are slight... I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labours on the world stage. Among those in the audience to see him ac- cept the award were film star Will Smith and his family. By ELLEN OrEILLy Obama: Wars are needed for peace Gunmen hold 57 villagers hostageGUNMEN trying to evade police serving arrest warrants abducted dozens of villagers in the southern Philippines yesterday and were still holding 57 hostages after releasing all the schoolchildren they had seized. The gunmen, identified as former government-armed militiamen, took about 75 people from the remote hamlet of San Martin and its local school in Agusan del Sur province as human shields. Negotiations with local officials led to the release of all 17 students being held, as well as an elderly woman. Police were pursuing the gunmen after an attempt failed to serve arrest warrants in a nearby village for two brothers allegedly involved in the killing of four members of a rival clan. As police approached the village, gunmen opened fire in an attempt to scare the locals. Last month, 57 people in an election convoy were massacred in another southern province, Maguindanao, which has since been placed under martial law. Doing the dusting: Michelle Obama removes dust from her husband Baracks suit at yesterdays ceremony Picture: AFP index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html