UK Jets To Start Syria Missions Within Hours

British jets will begin operations against Islamic State in Syria overnight, according to Sky sources.

RAF jets and drones are ready to launch airstrikes "very quickly", Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said.

Sources told Sky two RAF Tornado jets have taken off from Cyprus for the "operating area".

Tornado GR4s based at the Akrotiri base in Cyprus are expected to carry out the first sorties against IS.

They carry a range of munitions including Paveway IV guided bombs and precision guided Brimstone missiles.

'France likely to close more than 100 mosques'

France is likely to close up to 160 mosques in the coming months as part of a nationwide police operation under the state of emergency which allows places of worship that promote radical views to be shut down, one of the country's chief Imams has said.

France shutters three mosques

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told journalists on Wednesday that three mosques had been closed over the past two weeks during the state of emergency - marking the first time France had taken such action against places of worship.

On Wednesday, police shut a suspected radical mosque east of Paris and arrested the owner of a revolver found in related raids as part of the crackdown, Cazeneuve said.

Security officers found "jihadist" documents in the raids at the mosque and related premises in Lagny-sur-Marne.

They placed a total of nine people under house arrest and banned another 22 from leaving the country, Cazeneuve said.

The assets of Imam Mohamed Hammoumi, who ran the mosque and the cultural associations until he left to live in Egypt in 2014, were frozen in April, AFP reported.

The other two mosques closed last week were in Gennevilliers, northwest of Paris, and in the southeastern city of Lyon, Cazeneuve added.

France has so far raided 2,235 homes and buildings, taken 232 people into custody and confiscated 334 weapons, 34 of them war grade, the interior minister said.

[Agencies]

Following news that three mosques have already been closed since the November 13 attacks on the capital, Hassan El Alaoui, who is in charge of nominating regional and local Muslim imams and mediating between the imams and prison officials, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that more were set to be shuttered.

France extended emergency law from 12 days to three months amid increased security threats following the Paris attacks [Getty]

"According to official figures and our discussions with the interior ministry, between 100 and 160 more mosques will be closed because they are run illegally without proper licenses, they preach hatred, or use takfiri speech," he said.

Takfiris are classified as Muslims who accuse others of the same faith of apostasy, an act which has become a sectarian slur.

"This kind of speech shouldn't even be allowed in Islamic countries, let alone secure countries like France," El Alaoui, who became the first Muslim prison chaplain-general in 2005, said.

The recent mosque closures, he added, were made under "a legal act that the authorities have" and must have happened because "of some illegal things that they found".

The Imam also rejected those suspected of carrying out the suicide bomb and gun attacks, which left 130 people dead, as "terrorists".

"Those terrorists are a bunch of thieves and drug dealers that wore religious clothing," he said. "The whole issue is not about Muslims, but about terrorists. It's an issue of security for everyone."

There are a total of 2,600 mosques in France, El Alaoui said.

arquardt, a Parisian Muslim and cofounder of the al-Kawakibi Foundation, which works towards Islamic reformation, also said that he expects more mosques to be closed soon.

"It hardly comes as a surprise to me that there are mosques that absolutely deserve to be closed in France," he told Al Jazeera.

He said that he has joined the Islamic prayer in several French cities "and been shocked of what I've heard".

"There was a world view [being preached] that was quite worrisome. I'm talking about the politicisation of Islam. I've heard some speeches that tend to promote the notion among Muslims present that Islamophobia is organised by the French state, that somehow non-Muslim French people are against the Muslim minority."

France's extended emergency rule has seen a surge in arrests, house arrests and raids on homes and private property in the wake of the Paris attacks - including at mosques and Muslim-owned businesses - and has raised alarm among rights organisations that the law could curb civil liberties.

Meanwhile, there are fears that France's Muslim minority, the largest in any European country, is facing increased persecution as some fail to differentiate between Muslims and those who join or support armed groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, which claimed responsibility for the deadly violence on November 13.

"Being Muslim in France is not easy, it's a complicated condition," acknowledged Marquardt, "especially if you are a woman wearing a veil, you are a victim of discrimination, and if you're a man you find it hard to get a job."

Rising Islamophobia in the wake of the attacks, he added, was "unsurprising", though not "understandable".

"The link between people committing barbaric acts throughout the world is that they think of themselves as Muslim. As long as Muslims refuse to look at that honestly....I think it's not very serious intellectually and dubious morally and it's shocking this point is going to keep on coming."

Police Stop SUV After 14 Killed In Shooting

Triage units have been set up near the scene

San Bernardino police said another 17 were injured in the attack in the city, about 60 miles (96km) east of Los Angeles. 

He said the suspects were armed with "long guns" in the assault, which lasted for "several minutes" at the Inland Regional Center, a facility for people with disabilities.

Shots were reportedly fired from the vehicle during a chase and armoured BearCat vehicles surrounded it, with officers believing there was at least one wounded suspect in the back.

Police confirmed one suspect was "down" while pictures appeared to show another suspect being taken into custody and another was said to be possibly at large. Authorities could not immediately confirm if the operation was linked to the earlier shooting.

One police officer was hurt during the gun battle with the suspects and was taken to hospital with injuries that were "not life-threatening".

The attack - on an auditorium packed with around 100 people - is the deadliest shooting in the US since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Connecticut, in December 2012, when 27 people including the gunman were killed.

"They came prepared to do what they did as if they were on a mission," San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters.

Brandon Hunt, who works at the centre, said a banquet for health department workers was being held inside at the time.

Up to three men in military gear carried out the attack, San Bernardino Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Adams told Sky News.

The suspects are believed to have fled in a black SUV. 

A bomb squad was sent to look into a number of suspicious items left in the building.

The motive for the attack is unknown and an FBI spokesman told a news conference: "We do not know if this is a terrorist incident."

Police are interviewing witnesses who reportedly saw men changing clothes near the scene of the shooting, which is along a main road and next to a golf course and recreation centre.

Terry Petit fought back tears as he said he had received texts from his daughter saying she was hiding from gunfire at the facility.

Mr Petit read a message to reporters outside the Inland Regional Center that said: "People shot.

"In the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office."

Triage units have been set up near the scene, with some people seen being wheeled away on gurneys.

Television images showed people being evacuated with their arms raised from the building, where hundreds of people work.

Roads were blocked off and stores, office buildings and at least one school were placed on lockdown in the city of 214,000 people.

US President Barack Obama and California Governor Jerry Brown were briefed on the incident.

"We have a pattern now of mass shootings that has no parallel anywhere else in the world," Mr Obama told CBS News.

"There are some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently."

Russia: Turkish president benefits from ISIL oil deals

Russian officials have released satellite images which they claim show that Turkey buys oil from ISIL [EPA]

Russia has upped its dispute with Turkey further by claiming to have evidence that proves President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family are benefiting from the illegal smuggling of oil territory held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL).

Moscow has repeatedly been making the claim that Ankara buys oil from ISIL since Turkish jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border last week - instantly sparking a diplomatic dispute that has seen both sides wage a war of words through the media.

Turkey has vehemently denied the ISIL oil claims, with Erdogan saying again on Wednesday that he would resign from his post if they could be proved.

Russian officials held a press briefing in Moscow on Wednesday at which they showed satellite images, that they said showed columns of tanker lorries loading with oil at installations controlled by ISIL in Syria and Iraq, and then crossing the border into neighbouring Turkey.

Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov went further, implicating President Erdogan's family in ISIL's oil supply chain.

"Turkey is the main consumer of the oil stolen from its rightful owners, Syria and Iraq. According to information we've received, the senior political leadership of the country - President Erdogan and his family - are involved in this criminal business," he said.

"Maybe I'm being too blunt, but one can only entrust control over this thieving business to one's closest associates."

"In the West, no one has asked questions about the fact that the Turkish president's son heads one of the biggest energy companies, or that his son-in-law has been appointed energy minister. What a marvellous family business!"

However, Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from Moscow, said that no specific evidence had been provided by Russian officials to prove their claims against the president. 

"Of course, this is not going to go down at all well in Ankara," he said.

Speaking in Doha, Erdogan responded to the new claims on Wednesday by saying that no one had a right to "slander" Turkey.

"Nobody has the right to slander Turkey by saying Turkey is buying Daesh oil," he said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.

Other Turkish government officials described the claims as baseless, while a senior official from the ruling AK Party founded by Erdogan said they were part of a narrative being spun for a Russian domestic audience.

Erdogan, however, pointed out that he did not want relations  between the two countries to get any worse.

Moscow and Ankara have been at loggerheads over the November 24 incident when Turkish jets shot down a Russian warplane - which Turkey claims illegally crossed into Turkish airspace.

Turkey has released a number of recordings which it claims prove that the warplane was warned repeatedly prior to being shot down.

Russia has hit back, slapping Turkey with a series of sanctions over the weekend - including bans on Turks' labour contract extensions, chartered flights from Russia to Turkey and tourism packages to Turkey.

Al-Qaeda seizes key Yemeni towns

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters have consolidated their grip on territory in southern Yemen after capturing the towns of Zinjibar and Ja'ar from pro-government forces.

Zinjibar, the capital Abyan province on the Arabian Sea, was a major focus of forces battling the Houthis earlier this year [File: EPA]

The AQAP fighters launched an offensive on the towns at dawn on Wednesday, local officials said.

Al-Khader Haidan, a leader within the popular committee forces in Zinjibar district, told Al Jazeera that the attack had been expected and that AQAP fighters had been planning to take over Abyan governorate, where both towns are located, since pro-government forces liberated it from Houthi rebels in July.

"Abyan is a stronghold of AQAP and we already informed the authorities in Aden to send us military reinforcements, but we did not get enough support from the Yemeni army," he said.

"That is why the AQAP fighters took over the two main districts in Abyan easily."

Zinjibar, the capital Abyan province on the Arabian Sea, had been a major focus of forces battling the Houthis.

It was the fourth regional capital they won back after taking control of the port of Aden from the rebels in July.

The war in Yemen is being fought on multiple fronts, with a large number of formal and informal forces squaring off in various areas of the country.

President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, backed by a Saudi-led coalition and a number of popular committee forces loyal to his government, are locked in an ongoing struggle for territory with the Shia Houthi rebels and their allies - who seized the capital Sanaa earlier this year.

In the south and east, however, AQAP has taken advantage of fighting elsewhere to consolidate and expand on its own territory.

Bashraheel Hisham Bashraheel, deputy editor of the Yemeni Al Ayyam newspaper, told Al Jazeera that AQAP has increasingly taken over more area in Abyan over the past month, without facing much resistance.

"The Houthi rebels are now saying they are going to march down towards these areas," he said, adding that government forces will have a "huge task" to separate the different fighting factions.

Fadhl al-Rabei, a political analyst and head of Madar Studies Center in Aden, told Al Jazeera that it appeared AQAP was likely to take control of all of Abyan province.

Rabei said it appeared that the popular committees may have ceded Zinjibar and Ja'ar as a way of pushing the Yemeni government forces to join their fight with AQAP.

"There is coordination between AQAP in Abyan and the popular committees, and when the popular committees want something from the government they allow AQAP fighters to take over areas in Abyan," he said.

The Saudi-led coalition launched the military campaign against the Houthis in March with the aim of restoring Hadi's government after the rebels captured the capital and large parts of the country.

At least 5,400 people have been killed, and at least 1.5 million people have been displaced since the war began.

Court Orders Gollum Examination In Erdogan Case

Bilgin Ciftci is facing up to two years in prison for "insulting" Recep Tayyip Erdogan when he shared images comparing him to JRR Tolkien's thin, pale creature on social media.

Mr Erdogan at the presidential palace

A court in the western province of Aydin has asked two academics, two psychologists and a film expert to determine if the comparison was an insult, Milliyet newspaper reported.

The judge took the decision after admitting to not having seen Peter Jackson's trilogy of blockbusters, based on the novel.

The court agreed to adjourn the case until February while the experts analyse Gollum, Milliyet said.

Ciftci was sacked from his hospital and briefly detained in October for sharing images comparing Mr Erdogan's facial expressions to those of Gollum when eating, expressing surprise and amazement.

Gollum has a personality split between good and evil

The case comes amid growing concern over the spiralling numbers of journalists, bloggers and ordinary people who are being taken to court on charges of insulting Mr Erdogan and other top officials.

In another case that has garnered huge attention, former Miss Turkey beauty queen Merve Buyuksarac went on trial in May on charges of insulting the president.

'Star Wars': Destroying Death Star Would Trigger Economic Crisis

When the Rebel Alliance destroyed two Death Stars in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, it appeared to herald a new era of freedom for a galaxy that had been living under the tyranny of the Empire.

But according to an academic paper published Tuesday, the demolition of the planet-sized space stations would have had a disastrous effect on the fictional sci-fi universe — namely triggering “an economic depression of astronomical proportions.”

The paper entitled “It’s a Trap: Emperor Palpatine’s Poison Pill” was written by Zachary Feinstein, a financial engineering professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

Feinstein worked on the assumption that at the time of its defeat the Empire would still have owed the banking sector 50 percent of the costs of building the first Death Star — and the entire costs of constructing the second.

This would leave the banks with a shortfall of more than $500 quintillion (if that sounds a lot, it is: the figure has 20 zeros). With the Empire gone, so the theory goes, there would be no one to pay the banks back on these universe-sized loans.

Feinstein calculated that the Rebel Alliance would need financial reserves of at least 15 percent of the Galactic economy to bail out the banks and avoid financial catastrophe.

"Given that the Rebel Alliance is the 'scrappy underdog,' without the resources to build multiple moon-sized space stations, this is a sum they do not have," Feinstein wrote. "Without such funds at the ready, it likely the Galactic economy would enter an economic depression of astronomical proportions." 

While Feinstein's 10-page mini-thesis appears meticulously well-researched, trailers for the forthcoming "Star Wars" movie suggest that the writers decided against focusing its plot on the complexities of the banking sector. Which is probably for the best.