Haiyan: 'At Least 100 Dead' From Super Typhoon

At least 100 people may have died in the Philippines from the impact of super typhoon Haiyan, according to government officials.

An aviation officer in the central city of Tacloban reported bodies lying in the streets, said Captain John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Captain Andrews said the Tacloban airport manager had radioed the head office in Manila to report "100-plus dead, lying on the streets, with 100 plus injured".

The storm is believed to be the strongest ever to have made landfall

"This report was relayed to us by our station manager so it is considered very reliable information," he told ABS-CBN television.

"According to the station manager the airport is completely ruined."

Tacloban is the capital of Leyte, a large island of about two million people that was hit by Haiyan on Friday morning when the storm was at its strongest, knocking out all its communication facilities.

Families who survived the onslaught wait for relief supplies from the army

Local television GMA network reported that storm surges had hit Tacloban and nearby Palo town on its east coast.

Its reporter said he counted at least 31 bodies, including 20 at the Palo church. Philippine authorities are now rushing rescuers and communication equipment to the island.

Five other people have been confirmed killed elsewhere in the central Philippines and as emergency workers reach the worst affected areas, many which remain cut off, the death toll is expected to rise.

Volunteers in Manila pack relief goods for devastated provinces

Minnie Portales, a spokesman for the aid agency World Vision, said: "As we wait for early reports from some of the hardest-hit provinces, we fear for the worst. This could be very bad."

Anna Lindenfors, Save the Children's director for the Philippines, added: "We expect the level of destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan to be extensive and devastating, and sadly we fear that many lives will be lost."

Haiyan, now thought to be the strongest storm ever to hit land, was barrelling out of the Philippines after having flattened houses, triggered landslides and floods and knocked out power and communications across a number of islands.

Haiyan could now pick up speed again as it sweeps towards Vietnam

The category five storm whipped-up winds of 195mph and waves as high as 5 metres as well as brought down power lines, knocked out communications, caused landslides and left streets flooded.

Hundreds of thousands of people had to be evacuated and thousands more fled their homes as Haiyan tore apart buildings.

The previous strongest tropical cylcone, Hurricane Camille, brought 190mph winds to the Gulf of Mexico in 1969.

Meteorologists say Haiyan could pick up strength again as it sweeps across the South China Sea toward Vietnam.

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Iran Nuclear Talks Continue Amid Deal Hopes

Talks between the world's leading foreign ministers on Iran's nuclear programme are to stretch into an unscheduled third day after they ended on Friday with major "unresolved" issues remaining.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who cut short a Middle East tour to attend the talks in Geneva, Switzerland, struck a note of caution after a five-hour meeting drew to a close last night.

"There is not an agreement at this point," Mr Kerry told reporters. "There are still some very important issues on the table that are unresolved."

A senior State Department official said: "Over the course of the evening, we continued to make progress as we worked to the narrow the gaps. There is more work to do."

Iranian deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi added: "It was productive but still we have lots of work to do."

Six world powers - the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - are working on a deal to cap some of Iran's atomic programme in exchange for limited relief from economic sanctions.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the six countries and Iran could agree a "road map" to end the differences over the programme at the talks.

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (centre) is at the talks

Mr Lavrov is expected to join the discussions today, diplomatic sources said.

He told reporters he did not wish to prejudge the outcome but said Iran should be allowed to have a peaceful nuclear programme under the watch of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Unlike previous encounters between Iran and Western powers in the past decade, all sides have remained quiet about details of the negotiations, without the criticism and mutual allegations of a lack of seriousness that have been typical of such meetings in the past.

Diplomats involved in the talks say this is a sign of how serious all sides are.

If some sort of agreement is reached, it would be a breakthrough after a decade of negotiations between Iran and the six world powers.

A potential deal could see Tehran freeze its nuclear efforts for as long as six months in exchange for some relief from the sanctions that have battered its economy.

But Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that his country "utterly rejects" a deal being forged, adding that "Israel will do everything it needs to do to defend itself and defend the security of its people".

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Kerry Heads To Geneva For Iran Nuclear Talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry will fly to Geneva to participate in nuclear programme negotiations with Iran.

Six world powers - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - are working on a deal to cap some of Iran's atomic programmes in exchange for limited relief from sanctions stifling Iran's economy.

A senior US State Department official travelling with Mr Kerry in Amman, Jordan, said the secretary would come to Geneva "to help narrow differences in negotiations".

Even if an agreement is reached, it would only be the start of a long process to reduce Iran's potential nuclear threat, with no guarantee of ultimate success.

Even a limited accord would mark a breakthrough after nearly a decade of mostly inconclusive talks focused on limiting, if not eliminating, Iranian atomic programmes that could be turned from producing energy into making weapons.

The talks are primarily focused on the size and output of Iran's enrichment program, which can create both reactor fuel and weapons-grade material suitable for a nuclear bomb.

Iran insists it is pursuing only nuclear energy, medical treatments and research, but the United States and its allies fear that Iran could turn this material into the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

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Haiyan: Tropical Storm Slams Into The Philippines

Three people are reported to have been killed after the strongest tropical storm of the year, known as Typhoon Haiyan, barrelled into the Philippines.

Among those reported dead are a mother and child who drowned in South Cotabato and a boy who was struck by lightning in Zamboanga City.

Thousands of residents have been evacuated from villages in Haiyan's path amid fears the storm damage could be the worst in Philippines' history.

Residents of Legazpi city in Albay province, south of Manila, are evacuated

President Benigno Aquino III assured residents in high-risk areas, including 100 coastal communities, of war-like preparations with three C-130 air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on standby, along with 20 navy ships.

Residents were warned they would be forcibly evacuated at gunpoint if necessary.

"No typhoon can bring Filipinos to their knees if we'll be united," the President Aquino said in a televised address.

Nearly 200 flights have been suspended at Ninoy Aquino airport

The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre in Hawaii said Haiyan's maximum sustained winds were 314km per hour (195mph), with gusts up to 379km per hour (235mph).

Local journalist Mike Cohen told Sky News: "We're seeing a lot of strong winds but not a lot of rain. The eye of the storm has not yet made landfall, this is just the outer wall of the storm and it's 600km across.

"There are already reports of some landslides and very strong storm surge entering towns and villages in the path of the storm.

Philippine Coast Guards beside newly-acquired rubber boats in Manila

"Trees are falling and there is lots of damage reported across the region."

According to Mr Cohen, power has been cut to the worst affected areas, mainly as a preventative measure to avoid electrocution, but this was making communications difficult.

Jeff Masters, a former hurricane meteorologist who is a director at the private firm Weather Underground, warned residents to prepare for "catastrophic damage".

The calm before the storm: Fisherman's outrigger anchored off Manila bay

He said: "195-mile-per-hour winds; there aren't too many buildings constructed that can withstand that kind of wind. The wind damage should be the most extreme in Philippines history."

But other meteorologists forecast lower readings, saying the storm's speed at landfall had sustained winds at 234km per hour (145mph) with gusts of 275km per hour (170.88mph).

Fishermen repair their outrigger at Manila bay ahead of Haiyan's arrival

Haiyan is expected to roar through the Philippines' central region before moving toward the South China Sea over the weekend, heading towards Vietnam.

The head of the government's main disaster response agency in the capital Manila said people are still being moved from communities prone to landslides and flooding.

A closer look reveals the eye of the storm as it approaches the Philippines

These include residents of Bohol, many of whom are still living in tents after being made homeless following an earthquake last month.

But there is hope that, as Haiyan is a fast-moving storm, flooding from heavy rain - which usually causes the most deaths from typhoons in the Philippines - may not be as bad.

Haiyan is the 24th tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year.

More follows...

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Kerry's $75m Bid To Boost Middle East Talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry has pledged an extra $75m ($46m) in aid to help Palestinians, as he arrived in the Middle East to join peace talks.

Designed to boost Palestinian public support for the faltering negotiations, the additional cash is intended to create jobs and improve roads, schools and other infrastructure.

The announcement came as Mr Kerry met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of attempts to overcome the host of problems hindering the talks.

"I am very confident of our ability to work through them," he told reporters as he opened the meeting in a Jerusalem hotel.

Palestinian protesters during a demonstration as Kerry visited Bethlehem

"That is why I am here. This can be achieved with good faith and a serious effort on both sides."

He also urged both Mr Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who he met later in the day, to make "real compromises and hard decisions."

Senior Palestinians say an Israeli plan announced last week for 3,500 more settler homes in the occupied West Bank represents a major obstacle in the negotiations.

But Mr Netanyahu claimed the Palestinians' behaviour posed a greater threat to the discussions.

"I am concerned about the progress because I see the Palestinians continuing with incitement, continuing to create artificial crises, continuing to avoid, run away from the historic decisions that are needed to make a genuine peace," he said.

Mr Kerry also met Mahmoud Abbas

He said he hoped Mr Kerry's discussions in Jerusalem and with Mr Abbas "will help steer (the negotiations) back to a place where we could achieve the historical peace that we seek."

Speaking after meeting Mr Abbas, Mr Kerry reaffirmed the US' view of the settlements as "illegitimate".

Meanwhile, Palestinians held demonstrations in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, holding banners demanding an end to the settlements and criticising 'Israeli occupation and apartheid'.

On the sidelines of the peace talks, Israel has released half of the 104 Palestinian prisoners it pledged to free under a US-brokered deal to draw Mr Abbas back to negotiations that Palestinians abandoned in 2010 over settlement building.

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Yasser Arafat: Tests 'Support' Polonium Claims

Timeline: Yasser Arafat

Updated: 9:52am UK, Tuesday 27 November 2012

Here are some of the key dates in Mr Arafat's life.

:: February 4, 1969 Mr Arafat, the fifth child of a Palestinian merchant, takes over the PLO chairmanship. He transforms it into a force that makes the Palestinian cause known worldwide.

:: June 6, 1982 Israel invades Lebanon to crush the PLO, forcing Mr Arafat and loyalists to flee Beirut.

:: October 1, 1985 Mr Arafat narrowly escapes death in an Israeli air raid on the PLO's Tunisian headquarters.

:: April 16, 1988 Khalil al Wazir, Mr Arafat's military commander, is assassinated in Tunis. Israel is blamed.

:: December 12, 1988 Mr Arafat accepts Israel's right to exist and renounces terrorism. Nearly two years later, Iraq invades Kuwait, Mr Arafat supports Saddam Hussein and the PLO is isolated.

:: November 1991 Mr Arafat marries his 28-year-old secretary, Suha Tawil. Their daughter Zahwa is born in 1995.

:: April 7, 1992 Mr Arafat is rescued after a plane crash lands in the Libyan desert during a sandstorm.

:: September 13, 1993 Israel and the PLO sign an accord on Palestinian autonomy in Oslo, Norway, giving Mr Arafat control of most of the Gaza Strip and about a quarter of the West Bank. He shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn. The two later share the Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres.

:: July 1, 1994 Returning from exile, Mr Arafat sets foot on Palestinian soil for the first time in 26 years.

:: September 28, 2000 Israel's then opposition leader Ariel Sharon visits a Jerusalem shrine holy to Jews and Muslims, leading to clashes that escalate into a Palestinian uprising.

:: December 3, 2001 After three suicide bombings, Israel destroys Mr Arafat's helicopters in Gaza City, confining him to the West Bank town of Ramallah.

:: March 2002 Israel declares Mr Arafat an "enemy" two days after a Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover holiday meal, prompting an Israeli incursion into the West Bank.

:: June 24, 2002 President George W Bush calls on Palestinians to replace Mr Arafat as leader. A year later, his deputy Mahmoud Abbas becomes the first Palestinian prime minister in a move pushed for by the US and Israel to sideline Mr Arafat.

:: June 4, 2003 At the first major Israeli-Palestinian summit without Mr Arafat, Mr Sharon and Mr Bush launch "road map" peace plan, which aims to end fighting and create Palestinian state by 2005.

:: October 21, 2003 Mr Arafat is diagnosed with gallstones. Nearly a year to the day later, he collapses and is flown to hospital in France with a serious, undisclosed illness.

:: November 9, 2004 A French medical team acknowledges that Mr Arafat has been in a coma for a week. He dies two days later at the age of 75.

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Egypt: Morsi Trial Halted Due To Chanting

Co-ordinated Chaos At Morsi Trial

Updated: 5:09pm UK, Monday 04 November 2013

Seven men stood behind him as he stared out through bars into the courtroom.

The men, all Islamists, were dressed in white overalls and had their backs to the judge, their arms raised, four fingers on each hand raised.

Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, who refused the garb of a prisoner, told the court: "I am the legitimate president of the country."

But no one outside the trial could hear him – state television showed the video with no sound.

But the al Ahram news website quoted him as telling the judge: "I refuse to accept the Egyptian judiciary be a cover for the criminal military coup [that deposed him on July 3]."

The four fingers from his co-accused, all facing a possible death penalty for allegedly inciting murder during riots and an attack on the Muslim Brother headquarters in which eight people were killed, sent a message every Cairo commuter recognised – those four fingers meant take me to "Raba'a Square".

That was the scene of Egypt's largest political massacre in decades when hundreds, perhaps close to 1,000, Morsi supporters were shot dead and many more wounded by government forces during the clearance of a sit in outside the iconic mosque in Nasr City, Cairo, on August 14.

"I am present here by force and I demand that the head of this court not participate in the coup but restore by authority as president," Mr Morsi is reported to have said.

His outburst was part of a co-ordinated use of chaos by him and his co-defendants.

They chanted slogans against the court and the regime that had put them in the dock, they exchanged insults with their opponents and by lunchtime the session had been postponed for three months.

A lawyer for the defence, Ali Suleiman, said: "They [the lawyers] said that 'the court does not have the jurisdiction', and they said they 'want to be able to visit the accused because we do not know the whereabouts of Morsi', and so on until the case was postponed.

"There was some pushing and shoving between the lawyers of both sides and some journalists, but then it quieted down."

Outside the Police Academy, where another former president Hosni Mubarak, who is also accused of using political violence, has been on trial this year, Mr Morsi's supporters continued to cry foul.

Dr Sayed Awad, another jurist said: "Dr Mohamed Morsi did not appoint anyone to defend him because he does not recognise neither the trial nor the procedures and the investigation …

"The trial should be public and transparent so that the whole society and the world can be reassured. I need to understand why this trial is not public.

"If you are speaking about the law, I can tell you that by law and constitution, Mohammed Morsi is still the legitimate president of Egypt because he was elected by the people through the ballot boxes.

"All world governments agree that the president can only be changed through the ballot boxes."

That may be true in legal terms.

But the reality is that the "deep state" – Egypt's security apparatus, the military and its vast commercial empire, is now firmly back in charge of the Arab world's most populous country.

The coup which deposed Mr Morsi in July has never been described as such by Egypt's allies.

The United States imposed a temporary freeze on part of a $1.5bn annual military aid package which involved delays on the delivery of fighters, attack helicopters and other equipment – but has not labelled the ousting a "coup".

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, have swung behind the return of the "Deep State" with a total aid package worth $15bn in cash loans, grants and oil subsidies.

The authoritarian Gulf states all fear the organising power of the Brotherhood more than liberal democratic movements calling for the emancipation of women and the like.

The US fears chaos, the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamisation in general.

A secular military-dominated regime that keeps a lid on a fractious country may be the least bad option, from Washington's perspective.

Washington may be wrong.

The trial of Mr Morsi and the other seven as well as another eight men in absentia, should be seen as the latest and most spectacular attempt by the new government, officially led by president Adly Mansour, to re-criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood which spent most of the second half of the last century underground until the 2011 revolution which deposed Mubarak.

The party's leadership has been rounded up, its media shut down, and its supporters attacked.

But two genies have emerged from this bottle of political poison.

Firstly, Egypt has been gripped by a democratic spirit which could turn dangerous if it is not satisfied by the elections promised for next year.

The other is that Islamic groups, who have never fully comprehended the ups and downs of the democratic process anyway, may increasingly resort to violence.

The Sinai is already in the grip of an Islamic and criminal insurgency.

Police are regularly attacked in hit and run killings along the Suez, churches and worshippers face a daily danger of deadly attack.

It is hard to see how the show trial of an Islamic former president who was the first man ever to be democratically elected head of state will contribute to reducing tensions.

They are a look back to the dictatorships of the last century – not to the future of this one.

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Norway Bus Stabbings Leave Three Dead

A man has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing three people to death and hijacking a bus in Norway.

The suspect - thought to have been a passenger on the vehicle - is said to have attacked two passengers and the bus driver on Monday, just after 5.30pm.

Two men and a woman are understood to have died in the incident on Route 53, between Lake Tyin and the village of Ovre Ardal in Sogn and Fjordane county, western Norway.

Motorists who saw what was happening and attempted to help were threatened, local media reported.

One witness told Norway's TV2 that a man was walking around the inside of the bus with a knife.

Police said the suspect was not an ethnic Norwegian but could not give details on where he was from. The motive was not immediately clear, he said.

A map showing the location of Tyin, near where the attack happened

Emergency services were originally told a bus accident had occurred and rescuers from the fire department were the first to arrive on the scene.

Police were called soon after and ordered people nearby to stay inside their cars and lock their doors.

Until they declared the scene safe, they were unsure whether the man was acting alone.

The suspect, described as a man in his 50s, was at first held by firefighters but later arrested when officers arrived at the scene.

Oslo police had feared it was a terrorist incident and prepared to send an anti-terror unit to the scene aboard army helicopters.

They called off the deployment after receiving reports that the suspect had been arrested.

Local mayor Arild Ingar Lægreid told Bergensavisen website: "It is cruel that such things can happen. I'm shocked.

"The most important thing now is to take care of the families, and we do the best we can."

The bus, operated by Jotunheimen and Valdres, was heading east at the time of the attacks.

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Pakistan Reviews US Ties After Taliban Death

Pakistan is reviewing its relationship with the United States following the killing of the Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to chair a meeting of his top security advisers on Monday to discuss the next steps.

Mehsud, who had a $5m (£3.1m) US bounty on his head, was killed on Friday in the northwestern Pakistani militant stronghold of North Waziristan, near the Afghan border.

Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar responded to the killing by accusing the US of "scuttling" attempts to get the Taliban to take part in peace talks.

He said "every aspect" of co-operation with Washington would be reviewed in the wake of the attack.

"The murder of Hakimullah is the murder of all efforts at peace. Americans said they support our efforts at peace. Is this support?"

The US State Department has not confirmed the killing, but a spokesman said: "The United States and Pakistan continue to have a vital, shared strategic interest in ending extremist violence so as to build a more prosperous, stable and peaceful region."

Some politicians have demanded that US military supply lines into Afghanistan be blocked in response to the attack.

Pakistan is the main route for supplies for US troops in the landlocked country, for everything from food and drinking water to fuel.

Khan Said is suggested as a possible future leader of the Pakistani Taliban

The closure of the routes could be a serious disruption as US and other Western forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year.

Relations between the US and Pakistan have been seriously strained several times over recent years, including in 2011, when US forces killed Osama bin Laden in a raid that Pakistan said violated its sovereignty.

On Saturday, several militant commanders said 38-year-old Khan Said, who is also known as Sajna, had been chosen as the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban.

But Shahidullah Shahid, the main spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said a permanent replacement had not been chosen yet.

"Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, the head of the supreme shura, has has been appointed as temporary head of the TTP," Mr Shahid told the AFP news agency, adding that prayers for Mehsud were still going on.

Alongside Said and Bhittani, names suggested as a permanent leader include Mullah Fazlullah, the commander from the Swat Valley, whose men shot and wounded schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai last year.

Said is seen as a relative moderate and if he becomes leader, talks with the government might eventually get going, said Imtiaz Gul, the head of the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies think-tank.

But if Fazlullah was chosen, there would be little hope of compromise, he warned.

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Deadly Gun Attack On Nigeria Wedding Convoy

Gunmen have attacked a wedding convoy in Nigeria, killing more than 30 people including the groom.

Islamic militants were blamed for the ambush on the notorious Bama-Banki road in the northeastern state of Borno.

The road runs alongside forests which are a known hideout for Boko Haram fighters.

The group has previously said it is fighting to create an Islamic state, although it is believed to be made up of different factions with varying aims.

Witnesses said the wedding party was returning to the state capital Maiduguri after a ceremony in Michika in nearby Adamawa state when the gunmen struck.

It is not known whether the bride or her family were caught up in the attack.

One driver, who did not wish to be named, said he saw dead bodies lying on the road.

"It was a gory scene," he told the AFP news agency. "All the victims were brutally murdered by the attackers."

Violent attacks are not uncommon in Borno, where an army offensive to drive out insurgents is under way.

Last month, suspected extremists attacked a military checkpoint, reportedly killing at least four members of the security forces.

A state of emergency was declared in May following an increase in violence.

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New Pakistan Taliban Leader After Drone Strike

The Pakistani Taliban's number two commander has been promoted to leader after its previous chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike.

Khan Said, also known as Sajna, now heads the militant group following a meeting of the supreme ruling council, according to security officials.

However, some commanders were reportedly unhappy with the choice and wanted more talks.

The move comes as the fallout from the strike continues to grow, with Pakistan summoning the American ambassador to register a protest.

Pakistan's interior minister Chaudhry Nisar accused the US of "scuttling" attempts to get the Taliban to take part in peace talks.

He said "every aspect" of co-operation with Washington would be reviewed in the wake of the attack.

"The murder of Hakimullah is the murder of all efforts at peace," said interior minister Chaudhry Nisar. "Americans said they support our efforts at peace. Is this support?"

Hakimullah Mehsud (c) seen with other Taliban militants in a video in 2009

Khan Said is believed to have masterminded an attack on a jail in northwest Pakistan in 2012 that freed nearly 400 prisoners, as well as an assault on a Pakistani air force base in the same year.

Previous leader Mehsud had a $5m (£3.1m) US government bounty on his head and was one of Pakistan's most wanted men.

He has been buried after being killed on Friday along with four associates when a drone targeted his car in a compound in the country's North Waziristan tribal district.

The Pakistani Taliban has vowed revenge for the killing, with spokesman Azam Tariq saying: "Every drop of Hakimullah's blood will turn into a suicide bomber.

"America and their friends shouldn't be happy because we will take revenge for our martyr's blood."

The death comes at a politically sensitive time and follows months of debate over potential peace talks between the Taliban and the new government of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who swept to a landslide victory in May elections.

Pakistan's government has been trying to cut a peace deal with the militants to end years of fighting that has killed thousands of Pakistani civilians and security forces.

The government reacted angrily to Mehsud's killing, with information minister Pervez Rashid saying: "The US has tried to attack the peace talks with this drone but we will not let them fail."

A Pakistani Taliban fighter said Mehsud's body was "damaged but recognisable". His bodyguard and driver were also killed.

The US offered the $5m bounty after he appeared in a video with a Jordanian suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a base in Afghanistan in 2009.

Mehsud, said to be aged in his mid-30s, was also believed to be behind a failed car bombing in New York's Times Square in 2010, as well as brazen attacks inside Pakistan.

His killing is the latest in a series of setbacks for the militant group.

A drone strike in May killed Mehsud's number two, Waliur Rehman, and one of his most trusted lieutenants was captured in Afghanistan last month.

The group, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organisation founded in December 2007 following a deadly military raid on the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad.

The TTP officially swears allegiance to Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, who ruled Kabul from 1996-2001, but the two groups are separate, with independent command structures.

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LA Airport Gunman May Face Death Penalty

The suspected gunman in the deadly shooting at Los Angeles International Airport has been charged with murder - and could face the death penalty.

Authorities arrested Paul Ciancia, 23, after Friday's attack, which left security officer Gerardo Hernandez dead and five others wounded.

As well as murder, Ciancia was also charged with commission of violence at an international airport.

Suspected gunman Paul Ciancia

A note allegedly found in the suspect's bag said that he wanted to kill at least one transport officer with his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and didn't care which one. 

"Black, white, yellow, brown, I don't discriminate," the note read, according to a paraphrase by a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. 

The suspect's screed also mentioned "fiat currency" and "NWO," possible references to the New World Order, a conspiracy theory that foresees a one-world government.

Terminal 3, the area where the shooting happened, reopened on Saturday.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) planned to review its security policies in the wake of the shooting.

The attack caused major disruption to travellers

Administrator John Pistole did not say if that meant arming officers.

A few more details emerged about Ciancia, who was described as reserved and solitary.

Former classmates barely remember him, and could say little about the young man who moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles less than two years ago.

"He kept to himself and ate lunch alone a lot," a former classmate, David Hamilton, told the Los Angeles Times.

"I really don't remember any one person who was close to him .... In four years, I never heard a word out of his mouth."

A police officer at Los Angeles airport

Ciancia, who was shot four times by airport police, remained in hospital on Saturday, but there was no word on his condition.

He was wounded in the mouth and the leg, authorities said.

On Friday, Ciancia's father called police in New Jersey, worried about his son after the young man sent texts to his family that suggested he might be in trouble.

Ten minutes earlier, police said a suspect walked into the airport, pulled a rifle from a bag and began firing.

When searched by police, the attacker had five 30-round magazines, and the bag contained "hundreds of rounds in 20-round boxes," a law-enforcement official said.

Mr Hernandez, 39, was the first TSA official in the agency's 12-year history to be killed in the line of duty.

Allen Cummings, police chief in the small town where Ciancia grew up, said the texts the suspect's family had received did not mention suicide or hurting others.

The attack at the nation's third-busiest airport halted caused hundreds of flight delays and cancellations nationwide.

Leon Saryan had just passed through security when he gunfire. He fled and as he was cowering in a corner, the shooter approached.

"He looked at me and asked, 'TSA?' I shook my head no, and he continued on down toward the gate. He had his gun at the ready and, but for the grace of God, I am here to tell about it," said Saryan.

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