Police Discover Paris Bomb Factory In Brussels

Police in Brussels have been on high alert following the Paris attacks

Prosecutors say the clues were found during a raid on a flat on 10 December, confirming an earlier report by a Belgian newspaper.

The property in the district of Schaerbeek had been rented under a false name that might have been used by a person already in custody related to the Paris attacks, officials added.

A fingerprint belonging to Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam was found

The find suggests that the 13 November shooting and suicide bomb attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed, were at least partially planned in Belgium.

A fingerprint belonging to Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam was discovered, along with clues suggesting explosive belts may have been manufactured there.

"Material that can be used to fabricate explosives as well as traces of TATP (acetone peroxide) were found," a statement from the Belgian federal prosecutor said.

The flat in this street contained traces of explosives

"Three handmade belts that might be used to transport explosives as well as a fingerprint of Salah Abdeslam were also discovered."

Acetone peroxide is an ingredient which is often used in improvised explosive devices used by terrorist groups.

It is relatively cheap and easy to obtain, around the world because of its low cost and relative ease to obtain.

Abdeslam's brother Brahim blew himself up during the Paris attacks. He is still on the run after disappearing following the massacres.

The attackers wore suicide vests during their attacks on the Stade de France, Bataclan, and bars and restaurants.

Saudi Aramco eyes $1 trillion listing

Deputy Crown Prince Salman has drawn up plans to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil [Jacquelyn Martin/AP]

The world's largest oil company Saudi Aramco confirmed on Friday it is considering selling shares as part of a privatisation drive - a move that could create the first listed firm valued at $1 trillion or more.

In an interview with the Economist magazine published on Thursday, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the government was eyeing the move to raise money in an era of cheap oil and growing budget deficits.

"I believe it is in the interest of the Saudi market, and it is in the interest of Aramco," Mohammed told the British magazine.

Saudi Aramco said in a statement on Friday the listing proposal was consistent with the "broad and progressive direction pursued by the kingdom for reforms, including privatisation in various sectors of the Saudi economy and deregulation of markets".

The oil giant has crude reserves of about 265 billion barrels, more than 15 percent of all global oil deposits. If it went public, it could become the first listed company valued at $1 trillion or more, analysts estimate.

"What they need is more revenue of some sort, so obviously if they sell a bit of Aramco they'll get some in, and of course you can still improve efficiency of whatever a state-owned company does," Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at CEBR, told Reuters news agency.

Salman did not say how large a stake the government might sell in Aramco, which produces more than 10 million barrels of oil per day - three times as much as the world's largest listed oil company, ExxonMobil.

A sale could in the short term cover much of the huge budget deficit that Riyadh is running because of low oil prices.

Last year's deficit totalled $98 billion, prompting the government to raise fuel and utilities charges, shooting petrol prices up by 40 percent at the pump.

While it could increase foreign investors' interest in the Saudi stock exchange, the sheer volume of equity could initially weigh heavily on the market, which has a capitalisation of $384bn.

Salman - who as chairman of the powerful new Council of Economic and Development Affairs has broad authority over the economy - said the government would sell assets in a range of state firms: healthcare, education, and some military industries.

International investors have become increasingly concerned about Riyadh's ability to cope with low oil prices in the long run.

Crude oil prices fell below $35 per barrel on Thursday - its lowest since 2004 - while the riyal dropped to a record low against the US dollar.

But Salman said Saudi Arabia's low debt and huge array of assets meant it could cope easily with financial pressures. He said the government planned to provide state-owned funds with assets worth $400bn in the next few years.

As part of efforts to diversify revenues beyond oil, the government has said it plans to introduce a value-added tax in coordination with neighbouring Gulf countries.

"One interesting thing again would be whether other countries in the Gulf follow the same pattern," said Pryce.

"We have already seen some other countries ... doing different things such as financial services or much more tourism. Even Saudi Arabia is talking about improving its own tourism - away from just religious tourism to more Western-type tourism."

BNP Struck Off Political Parties Register

The commission said the party - which won two seats in the European Parliament in 2009 - had failed to meet the annual requirement to submit its registration details on time.

The BNP, which has faced allegations of racism among its members, went into decline after its leader Nick Griffin lost his seat as an MEP in 2014.

Mr Griffin was expelled from the party and replaced as chairman by Adam Walker five months after the election defeat.

The Electoral Commission said: "The last date a notification can be submitted to the Commission is six months after the deadline for submission of a party’s statement of accounts.

"The BNP’s statement of accounts were due on 7 July 2015. Their annual confirmation of registered details was therefore due on or before 7 January 2016.

"The Electoral Commission did not receive the notification by this date and is required by law to remove the BNP from its register of political parties in Great Britain."

The ruling means BNP supporters can remain members of the party but candidates for election would have to stand as independents and would be barred from using the BNP name or logo on the ballot paper.

If the party applies to re-register, the application would be considered along with other applications from new political parties. 

The BNP once had 50 council seats but fielded only eight candidates at last year's general election, down from 338 in 2010.

BNP spokesman Stephen Squire said it was a "clerical error on our part" and that the party would submit the necessary paperwork within the next few days.

"It's a little bit embarrassing," he said, but insisted it would be "business as usual" for the party, which intended to contest the London mayoral election and some council seats.

"We've been overwhelmed by the number of phone calls we've had from people concerned we might be disappearing."

Turkey: Court challenge against Friday prayer time off

Muslim males are obliged to attend Friday prayers [Reuters]

A Turkish government order allowing Muslim public employees to take time off from work for Friday prayers has been challenged in the country's top court.

The order announced on Friday gives state employees the right to leave for Friday prayers during working hours.  

Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu, a prominent lawyer, filed a lawsuit at the highest administrative court in the country hours after the announcement, arguing the government order goes against Turkey's secular consitution.

"This is an exploitation of religion for political goals," Eminagaoglu told Al Jazeera. "The freedom of belief should be protected for all, but it should not be exploited in the favour of one part of the society over another.

"Judges and teachers are public employees. Are they going to leave their jobs and go pray? The prayer times are different all around the country. People will have to follow prayer times to get work done at public offices."

'Against a secular state'

The lawsuit purports that the new prayer practice goes against "the secular Turkish state of law" and is discriminatory as "it will reveal if people are worshippers or not", which is a private matter.

The court challenge seeks the immediate suspension and consequent annulment of the prayer order.

Ahmet Iyimaya, an MP from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told Al Jazeera that secularism is an assurance of religious liberties in democracies, not an obstacle against it.

"I do not understand how ... giving people the chance for collective worship at a particular time conflicts with secularism," said Iyimaya, a veteran lawyer.

"In Turkey, there is a tendency to easily categorise any practice as discrimination. Why would anybody discriminate if one is worshipping or not? There is no discrimination according to eye colour or outfit."

The lawsuit also asked the highest Turkish criminal court to take legal action against the AK Party, alleging the government's move broke laws guarding the secular constitution.

'More to follow'

Lawyer Eminagaoglu said he believes if the order is enforced, other similar religous ones will follow.  

"What if the government adjusts the working hours according to five-time daily [Muslim] prayers or [Ramadan month's] fasting times? Where would be the end of it?" he told Al Jazeera.

Devout Muslim males are obliged to attend Friday prayers. Turkey follows a Monday-Friday work week as in the West, unlike other Muslim-majority countries.

In 1997, an attempt by the-then conservative coalition government to change state employee working hours in line with Ramadan fasting hours was annulled by the judiciary.

"There is a circle in Turkey striving to clash secularism with values of religion in the public sphere," the MP Iyimaya said.

Turkey is constitutionally secular, but it is often criticised by the public for certain practices such as mandatory religious courses at schools largely covering Sunni Islam, and non-binding controversial decrees by the country's Directorate of Religious Affairs.

In a recent decree, the directorate said "engaged couples needed to refrain from flirting, living together … holding hands and other behaviours that are not endorsed by Islam".

Turkey: Court challenge against Friday prayer time off

Muslim males are obliged to attend Friday prayers [Reuters]

A Turkish government order allowing Muslim public employees to take time off from work for Friday prayers has been challenged in the country's top court.

The order announced on Friday gives state employees the right to leave for Friday prayers during working hours.  

Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu, a prominent lawyer, filed a lawsuit at the highest administrative court in the country hours after the announcement, arguing the government order goes against Turkey's secular consitution.

"This is an exploitation of religion for political goals," Eminagaoglu told Al Jazeera. "The freedom of belief should be protected for all, but it should not be exploited in the favour of one part of the society over another.

"Judges and teachers are public employees. Are they going to leave their jobs and go pray? The prayer times are different all around the country. People will have to follow prayer times to get work done at public offices."

'Against a secular state'

The lawsuit purports that the new prayer practice goes against "the secular Turkish state of law" and is discriminatory as "it will reveal if people are worshippers or not", which is a private matter.

The court challenge seeks the immediate suspension and consequent annulment of the prayer order.

Ahmet Iyimaya, an MP from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told Al Jazeera that secularism is an assurance of religious liberties in democracies, not an obstacle against it.

"I do not understand how ... giving people the chance for collective worship at a particular time conflicts with secularism," said Iyimaya, a veteran lawyer.

"In Turkey, there is a tendency to easily categorise any practice as discrimination. Why would anybody discriminate if one is worshipping or not? There is no discrimination according to eye colour or outfit."

The lawsuit also asked the highest Turkish criminal court to take legal action against the AK Party, alleging the government's move broke laws guarding the secular constitution.

'More to follow'

Lawyer Eminagaoglu said he believes if the order is enforced, other similar religous ones will follow.  

"What if the government adjusts the working hours according to five-time daily [Muslim] prayers or [Ramadan month's] fasting times? Where would be the end of it?" he told Al Jazeera.

Devout Muslim males are obliged to attend Friday prayers. Turkey follows a Monday-Friday work week as in the West, unlike other Muslim-majority countries.

In 1997, an attempt by the-then conservative coalition government to change state employee working hours in line with Ramadan fasting hours was annulled by the judiciary.

"There is a circle in Turkey striving to clash secularism with values of religion in the public sphere," the MP Iyimaya said.

Turkey is constitutionally secular, but it is often criticised by the public for certain practices such as mandatory religious courses at schools largely covering Sunni Islam, and non-binding controversial decrees by the country's Directorate of Religious Affairs.

In a recent decree, the directorate said "engaged couples needed to refrain from flirting, living together … holding hands and other behaviours that are not endorsed by Islam".

IS Jihadist Executes His Own Mother - Reports

ld told IS officials "she tried to persuade him to leave IS and flee the city", according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It said he shot his mother on Wednesday "in front of hundreds of people" in a piazza near a post office.

"She was executed under the pretext of 'inciting her son to leave the Islamic State and escaping together to the outside'," it said.

The woman was described as being in her forties. She lived in the neighbouring town of Tabaqa but worked in the city.

Raqqa is the self-proclaimed capital of IS's so-called "caliphate", where it imposes its harsh interpretations of Islamic law.

This week, Sky News revealed IS was employing scientists and weapons experts to train jihadists at a "jihadi technical college" in the Syrian city to carry out attacks in Europe.

Exclusive footage shows the terror group can now recommission thousands of missiles assumed by Western governments to have been redundant through old age.

extremist group has been accused of carrying out mass killings, torture, rape and sexual slavery.

Cologne Police Chief Removed Over Assaults

Wolfgang Albers admitted mistakes were made in a report compiled after more than 100 New Year revellers were sexually assaulted, robbed or threatened during the city's celebrations, mostly by migrants and asylum seekers.

Cologne police said the decision to retire Mt Albers would be formally discussed by North Rhine-Westphalia's governing Cabinet on Tuesday, but he would not be returning to his job.

The sacking came as a women's rights campaigner and performance artist named Milo Moire staged a naked protest over the assaults.

Ms Moire stood in front of Cologne Cathedral brandishing a placard which read: "Respect us. We are not fair game even when we are naked."

She later told Sky News she had "zero tolerance" of the attacks and wanted to make her feelings known.

"It was important for me to go onto the street and make a statement.that we women have fought so long for our rights and it's important now to say no, that's not normal (behaviour), we have our rights... and freedom."

Earlier Germany's interior ministry spokesman Tobias Plate said police had identified 31 people suspected of playing a role in the violence, 18 of them asylum seekers.

Mr Plate said the vast majority of the 32 criminal acts documented by federal police on the night were related to theft and bodily injury, and three to sexual assaults.

He said of the 31 people questioned, nine had been Algerian, eight Moroccan, five Iranian, and four Syrian.

Two German citizens, an Iraqi, a Serb and a US citizen were also among those seen to have committed crimes during the night.

An internal police report following the violence has described how women were forced to run through mobs of drunken men

The document, made public by German newspapers, came amid allegations that officers struggled to cope with the large crowds of disorderly revellers - as "several thousand males with a migrant background" hurled fireworks and bottles.

It recounted how policemen were met by "anxious citizens with crying and shocked children" as numbers swelled at Cologne's main train station in the minutes before midnight.

Jens Floeren, a federal police spokesman, has confirmed the authenticity of the report - but stressed it was the "subjective assessment" of one officer who was at the scene.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a "fundamental" debate on how to integrate the 1.1 million refugees who were registered in the country last year.

She described the assaults as "repugnant criminal acts that Germany will not accept".

She added: "The feeling women had in this case of being at people's mercy, without any protection, is intolerable for me personally as well.

"We must examine again and again whether we have already done what is necessary in terms of deportations from Germany in order to send clear signals to those who are not prepared to abide by our legal order."

Members of Cologne's Muslim community, including some who have lived in the city for decades, have joined other Germans in condemning the attacks.

One woman said: "Everywhere it says this has something to do with Muslims. What I read and learned in the Koran is completely different.

"I've been here for 30 years myself and I've never seen anything like this."

Elsewhere Swiss police have said several women were also robbed and sexually assaulted in Zurich on New Year's Eve in attacks "a little bit similar" to those reported in Cologne.

Officers in Finland have also confirmed there were a higher-than-average number of sexual harassment complaints in Helsinki as revellers welcomed in 2016.

Officials claimed they were tipped off about groups of asylum seekers who were planning to assault women.

Swedish police say two asylum seekers are among the suspects after at least 15 women reported being groped on New Year's Eve in Kalmar.