Somalia parliament suicide car bomb kills four

Police say the suicide bomber was prevented from approaching the heavily guarded parliament

A suicide car bomb has killed at least four people near Somalia's parliament, police and Somali media say.

Reports say the bomb went off outside the main gate of parliament after guards shot at the bomber.
One report quoted al-Shabab militants praising the "sacrificial attack". An attack by the rebels on the building in May left at least 10 people dead.
The Islamist militant group lost control of Mogadishu in 2011 and has since carried out several bombings.

Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has vowed to step up attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Earlier this week, a prominent MP, Ahmed Mohamud Hayd, was shot dead in the city, in a drive-by attack claimed by al-Shabab.
'Sacrificial attack' "A car loaded with explosives was intercepted near the parliament and it went off. There are casualties but we don't have details so far," police spokesman Mohamed Idle told AFP news agency in relation to Saturday's attack. He said that a suicide bomber was in the car.
Police and witnesses at the scene told AFP that up to four people died and many more were wounded - two policemen were reported to be among the dead.
Al-Shabab have launched several attacks on Somalia's UN-backed parliament - including in 2009 and 2010 - and more recently other targets in and around Mogadishu.
The group's military spokesman told AFP that "more than a dozen so-called police members" were killed in the "sacrificial attack at the main entrance of parliament buildings" on Saturday.

Somali soldiers were forced to defend parliament from an al-Shabab attack in May

In February, al-Shabab militants attacked the presidential palace in Mogadishu, leaving at least 16 people dead.
Al-Shabab, whose name means "The Youth" in Arabic, advocates the strict Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam.
The al-Qaeda-linked group wants to establish an Islamic state in Somalia.

Source BBC News

California police 'pummelling' of woman is investigated

The California Highway Patrol says that it is investigating footage posted on YouTube that shows a policeman repeatedly punching the face and head of a prostrate woman.

Video shows him straddling the woman and hitting her at least 11 times.
Police say that the woman needed to be restrained and was endangering herself and motorists by walking on a busy road in the west of Los Angeles.
The incident was recorded by passing motorist David Tiaz.
"{The policeman] just pounded her," he told CBS Los Angeles.
"If you look at the video, there are 15 hits. To the head, and not just simple jabs. These are blows to the head. Blows. Really serious blows. And this is ridiculous to me."
"I find it hard to believe there [was] no other remedy in this situation."
The officer involved in the incident is reported by the AP news agency to be on administrative leave while it is being investigated. He has not been identified.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) says that it is looking into the details of the incident, which has been condemned by civil rights leaders.
"As a matter of policy, every time there is a use of force by our officers, there is a review conducted to determine whether the use of force was appropriate," a CHP statement said.
"That will be done in this case. However, since there is an ongoing investigation, it would be premature to comment on this specific video segment without reviewing the entire incident."
When the video starts, the officer is seen trying to detain the barefooted woman, who walks a few steps away from him.
But the officer is seen forcing her to the ground, briefly struggling with her before repeatedly pummelling her. A few moments later, a plainclothes officer enters the picture and helps his colleague put the woman in handcuffs.
A CHP spokesperson was quoted by CBS Los Angeles on Friday as saying that the agency was trying to bring Tuesday's incident "to a just conclusion".

Source BBC News

The German authorities have summoned the US ambassador in Berlin after a man was arrested on suspicion of spying.

The German authorities have summoned the US ambassador in Berlin after a man was arrested on suspicion of spying.

The US diplomat "was asked to help in the swift clarification" of the case, the foreign ministry said.
German officials confirmed the arrest but released no other details.
US-German ties were strained after allegations last year that the US National Security Agency (NSA) bugged Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone as part of a huge surveillance programme.
The scale of the agency's global spy programme was revealed in documents leaked by a former intelligence contractor, Edward Snowden.
The BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin says the new allegation of American spying on an ally may make it harder for the US to get German help in its efforts to oppose Russian activity in Ukraine, and also to control Iranian nuclear ambitions.
'Zero trust' The man arrested on Wednesday is a 31-year-old German employee of the federal intelligence service, the BND or Bundesnachrichtendienst, federal prosecutors say.
He was held on suspicion of spying for foreign intelligence services. Prosecutors did not identify the suspect - or foreign services involved.
Media reports suggested the suspect - a man with a mid-level rank at the BND - had been spying for the US for a period of two years.
He was said to have been involved in the German parliamentary investigation into the activities of foreign intelligence agencies, including the NSA.
Originally, the reports said, he had been suspected of spying for Russia.

Source BBC News