At least 3 snowmobilers dead in Canadian avalanche

 

REVELSTOKE, British Columbia – An avalanche struck a rally of up to 200 snowmobilers in Canada's Rocky Mountains on Saturday, killing at least three people and leaving an unknown number missing, police said.

Rescuers were still scouring remote Boulder Mountain, near Revelstoke, British Columbia, early Sunday morning, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

The RCMP said a dozen people were injured in the slide but up to 200 people were on the mountain at the time for the annual Big Iron Shoot Out rally.

Afghan gov. wants more troops after 12 explosions

 

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – The governor of Kandahar province demanded more security around Afghanistan's largest southern city Sunday after 12 explosions killed dozens of people in the Taliban heartland that will be the target of the war's next major offensive.

The coordinated attacks around Kandahar city Saturday night included two car bombs, six suicide attackers on motorbikes and bicycles plus four homemade bombs, Gov. Tooryalai Wesa said. At least 33 people died, including 10 women and children attending a wedding celebration in a hall next to a police station that was targeted.

Kandahar province is considered the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban insurgency and is widely known to be the next stop for NATO and Afghan forces after a major combined push to take another militant stronghold in next-door Helmand province.

APNewsBreak: Probe questions runaway Prius story

SAN DIEGO – Investigators with Toyota Motor Corp. and the federal government were unable to make a Toyota Prius speed out of control as its owner said it did on a California freeway, according to a draft memorandum obtained Saturday by The Associated Press that casts doubt on the driver's story.

James Sikes, 61, called 911 on Monday to report losing control of his Prius as the hybrid reached speeds of 94 mph. A California Highway Patrol officer helped Sikes bring the vehicle to a safe stop on Interstate 8 near San Diego.

During two hours of test drives of Sikes' car Thursday, technicians with Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration failed to duplicate the same experience that Sikes described, according to the memo prepared for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Saudi ‘prince’ arrested after body found in Landmark hotel in London

A man claiming to be a prince in the Saudi Royal Family has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a compatriot who was found with serious head injuries at a London hotel. The suspect was arrested on Monday night, a few hours after police were called to the Landmark hotel where the body of a 32-year-old man was found in a third-floor room just before 5pm.

Detectives have established that the suspect has links to the Saudi Royal Family but are not yet sure of his exact title. He was last night being questioned by detectives at a police station in Central London. 

Dubai Hamas killing suspects' passports 'fraudulent'

Passports belonging to the alleged killers of a top Hamas official in Dubai are fraudulent, the British and Irish governments have said.

Ireland said the names and passport numbers of three suspects did not match anything issued by its officials.

Britain said it believed the six British passports were also fraudulent. 

Arrest warrants were issued for the suspects named by police in Dubai, where Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was murdered in a hotel room on 20 January.

Two more men, one using a French passport and one using a German passport, are also suspected of playing parts in the assassination.

The French foreign ministry said it was "not able to confirm the nationality of this person", according to AFP news agency.