Drug Mule Freed In Peru Gives First Interview

A young woman who became known as one of the 'Peru Two' after being arrested for drugs smuggling has insisted she is a "good person" after her release from jail.

Michaella McCollum, from Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, was freed on parole on Thursday after serving more than two years in prison in South America.

McCollum and Melissa Reid, from Scotland, were sentenced in 2013 to six years and eight months in jail after admitting trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m to Spain from Peru.

In her first interview since being released, the 23-year-old said: "I've forgotten the things that everybody takes for granted in life.

"Seeing the sun, seeing the darkness, seeing the moon and the stars, things I haven't seen in almost three years."

McCollum was freed early after two years and three months inside as a result of new prison legislation introduced in Peru last year.

It is expected she will have to remain in Peru for several more years as part of her parole conditions.

Reid remains in prison in Peru.

She has been seeking to serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home in Scotland, but has not yet been given the go-ahead.

McCollum told a documentary due to be aired on RTE One on Sunday night that she recognised the damage she could have caused.

probably would have had a lot of blood on my hands," she said.

"I potentially could have filled Europe full of a lot of drugs.

"I could have potentially killed a lot of people, not directly but I could have caused a lot of harm to people."

She added: "I made a decision in a moment of madness. I'm not a bad person. I want to demonstrate that I'm a good person."

McCollum, from Dungannon, and Reid, from Glasgow, were working in Ibiza when they claim they were forced to board a flight with 24lb of cocaine in food packets hidden inside their luggage.

They were caught with the haul at Lima airport on 6 August, 2013, attempting to fly to Spain.

They had claimed they were forced to carry the drugs but pleaded guilty to charges later that year.

The pair had previously been held at Virgen de Fatima prison but were later moved to the Ancon 2 jail, where conditions are said to be cramped, with poor sanitation and toilet facilities.

Ceasefire After Dozens Killed In Caucasus

A ceasefire has been announced after at least 30 soldiers were killed in clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

News agency AFP reported that Azerbaijan announced the "unilateral" ceasefire in Karabakh on Sunday morning.

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian described the bloodshed as the "largest-scale hostilities" since a 1994 truce ended a war in which Armenian-backed fighters seized the territory from Azerbaijan.

He said 18 Armenian troops were killed and some 35 wounded in the fighting.

Azerbaijan's defence ministry said 12 of its soldiers were killed and one of its military helicopters was shot down.

A house destroyed by artillery in the Nagorny Karabakh region

Moscow and Western leaders had been among those calling for the ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had called on the two former Soviet states to "exercise restraint in order to prevent further casualties", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the reports of heavy fighting were "deeply worrying".

Armenia accused Azerbaijan of launching a "massive attack along the Karabakh frontline using tanks, artillery, and helicopters" on Friday night.

Azerbaijan, however, said it defended itself after coming under fire from "large-calibre artillery and grenade-launchers".

Nagorno Karabakh's main city of Stepanakert

Armenian separatists, backed by the capital Yerevan, seized control of the mountainous Nagorny Karabakh region in the early 1990s war that killed 30,000 people.

The two nations have never signed a peace deal despite the 1994 ceasefire and the region is still internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.

Moscow has supplied weapons to both sides, but is much closer to Armenia.

Energy-rich Azerbaijan had repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway region by force if negotiations fail to yield results but Armenia had promised it could crush any offensive.

The last flare-up took place in November 2014 when Azerbaijan shot down an Armenian military helicopter.

Plane Crashes Into Car Killing Passenger

A light aircraft crash landed on a motorway, hitting a car and killing a passenger.

The collision happened on the Interstate 15 freeway just outside Fallbrook, southern California on Saturday.

The same plane made headlines when it landed safely on the same stretch of road 15 years ago.

The black Nissan Altima sedan involved in the collision was parked on the hard shoulder of the highway at the time.

It is understood the driver had stopped to synchronise a bluetooth device.

Witnesses said the single-engine plane appeared to be having problems before it banked and came down.

California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Parent said the Lancair IV landed on its belly and skidded about 250 feet before striking the rear of the vehicle.

The impact crushed the back of the car, killing a 38-year-old San Diego woman in the back seat and injuring three others inside.

John Buchanan, spokesman for the North County Fire Protection District, said: "The plane went completely into the trunk and pushed the rear bumper almost into the rear passenger seat."

Pilot Dennis Hogge, 62, and his female passenger suffered major injuries.

The driver of the sedan suffered moderate injuries, and his other two passengers were expected to survive their injuries.

The plane was once owned by major league baseball player Matt Nokes, who made a noteworthy landing on the I-15 when the engine failed on its second flight in February 2000.

But he wasn't the only one - Officer Parent said he's aware of three other planes that have come down on the same stretch of motorway in the past decade.

Russia vs the West: The information war over Palmyra

In May 2015, when the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra was captured by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) the western media foreshadowed worst-case scenarios for the people of the city and the Roman ruins situated there.

But when President Bashar al-Assad's forces backed by Russian warplanes liberated the city late last month, western news outlets gave the story short shrift - despite the blow taken by ISIL and what it means for the Syrian civil war.

In stark contrast was the coverage beaming out of Russia. Domestic media there as well as international outlets in Russia - like RT and Sputnik - gave the story extensive treatment, making the case that Palmyra may serve to vindicate President Vladimir Putin's intervention in a war for which the West, as the Russians like to say, has run out of answers.

The divergent news narratives would have come as no surprise to the Russian president himself, whose spokesman told Russian state TV that the Kremlin is fighting an "information war" with what he described as the "Anglo-Saxon media".

Talking us through the Palmyra story and this media divide are: Oksana Boyko, RT presenter; Rami Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Institute; Sameh Habeeb, journalist; and Shiraz Maher, a senior research fellow at ICSR.

Other stories on our radar this week: The Turkish government's heavy-handedness with the media now extends to journalists outside of the country; in China, an open letter demanding the resignation of President Xi Jinping has landed the journalists involved - and their families – in trouble; and a French journalist has been arrested at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for disclosing confidential court documents.

Cuba: Media blind spots, tunnel visions and cliches

President Barack Obama's visit to Cuba last week, the first by a sitting US president in almost 90 years, is the latest step in a gradual diplomatic thaw between the two countries.

The visit got a lot of media coverage, both domestically and in the US. But while politicians are trying to rewrite the Cold War story, the journalists covering the story - on both sides - seem to be sticking to an old script.

The Listening Post's Marcela Pizarro reports on the blind spots, tunnel visions and cliches that come with reporting on and from Cuba.

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Finally, as someone who claims to be a PR exec, Matthew Doyle should have known better. After the Brussels attacks last week he tweeted that he "confronted" a Muslim women and asked her to explain what happened. Her response "nothing to do with me" was a "mealy mouthed reply" according to Doyle. His tweet went viral for all the wrong reasons with the Twitter users mocking his "mealy mouth reply" comment, using it to ask for explanations for all kinds of things that have nothing to do with anybody. We compiled a few for your consideration.

Belgium charges third suspect over foiled France attack

File photo: Belgium has foiled a plan to attack France and charged a total of three suspects [Laurent Dubrule/EPA]

Belgium has charged a third suspect with participating in a "terrorist group" over a foiled plan to attack France.

Federal prosecutors on Saturday named the suspect as 35-year-old Y.A., but gave no further details.

"He [Y.A.] has been charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group," the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

It added that the development was part of a joint investigation by France and Belgium.

Two others, Abderrahmane A. and Rabah M., are also being held in Belgium over the same plot.

The main plot suspect is Reda Kriket, who was arrested near Paris last weekafter police discovered a large number of weapons and explosives at his home.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said "no specific target" had been identified for the foiled attack but that the cache of weapons showed an imminent act of "extreme violence" had likely been prevented.

Netherlands is also detaining a French national for the same atack and he is currently fighting his extradition to France.

European authorities have been under pressure to increase efforts to eliminate cross-border armed networks after close links emerged between the fighters of the November Paris attacks and last week's suicide blasts at Belgium's airport and a metro station.

Turkish leader Erdogan says Islamophobia on rise in US

The Turkish leader was in the US to participate in a nuclear summit in Washington [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

Islamophobia is on the rise in the United States and US presidential candidates have targeted Muslims during the election campaign, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to the country.

Speaking on Saturday at the opening of a Turkish-sponsored mosque and religious complex outside Washington, Erdogan also said recent attacks in Brussels and Paris "cannot compare" to countries such as Turkey and Pakistan had endured over the years, in terms of violent attacks by hardline groups.

The Turkish leader was in the US mainly to participate in a nuclear summit in Washington.

Al Jazeera's John Hendren was at the opening ceremony of the complex, which includes prayer and cultural facilities, including a Turkish bath.

"Thousands have come here to hear him [Erdogan] speak," said our correspondent.

"There are Turkish flags here with the words 'I love Turkey' on them. He has generated some enthusiasm, on an otherwise controversial trip."

ISIL discussed

On Thursday, US President Barack Obama reaffirmed the US commitment to Turkey's security during a meeting with Erdogan, while also discussing both countries' efforts to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), the White House said.

"The president extended condolences to President Erdogan on behalf of the American people for those killed and injured in today's terrorist attack in Diyarbakir, and reaffirmed the support of the United States for Turkey's security and our mutual struggle against terrorism," the White House said.

"The leaders also discussed how to advance our shared effort to degrade and destroy ISIL".

In a statement on Friday, Turkey's presidential office said the two NATO leaders discussed cooperation on resolving the refugee crisis and how partners in the fight against ISIL can ramp up their efforts.

Protests Ahead Of Migrant Deportations

Greece is preparing to start deporting migrants back to Turkey despite mounting concerns about how they will be treated once returned.

It comes after MPs in Athens voted to back draft legislation, fast-tracked through parliament, to allow the returns to start as soon as Monday.

The controversial operation will apply to those who arrived on Greek islands after 20 March.

:: UN Expresses Concern Over EU Migrant Plan

Several Greek officials said deportations are likely to start from the island of Lesbos, using buses to take people from camps to chartered vessels.

They are also to take place with a heavy security escort - with one police minder for every migrant.

The imminent deportations, backed by the European Union following its recent agreement with Turkey, triggered violence at detention camps in the country.

Authorities on the island of Chios said several hundred people forced their way out of an overcrowded camp and staged a protest in the island's main town.

It followed overnight clashes between Syrian and Afghan detainees that left five people injured.

The United Nations has urged Greece and Turkey to provide further safeguards for asylum seekers before the returns begin.

It said that conditions are worsening by the day for more than 4,000 people being held on Greek islands.

It comes as residents in the Turkish town of Dikili also staged protests against setting up registration desks and building refugee camps in their town for those sent back to the country from Europe. 

Human rights group Amnesty International, which has strongly opposed the EU-Turkey agreement , said in a report it had evidence of Turkish authorities rounding up Syrians and sending them back across the border to their conflict-torn country.

The group said Turkey has been expelling around 100 men, women and children nearly daily since mid-January.

Greek officials did not respond to the criticism directly, but insisted the rights of detained asylum seekers were being protected.

The clashes on Chios were the latest in a series of violent clashes at shelters and gathering points across Greece, where more than 52,000 migrants and refugees are stranded following EU-backed Balkan border closures.

More than 11,000 of those stranded remain camped out at the Greek-Macedonian border, ignoring calls by the government to move voluntarily to organised shelters.

Many say they have heard conditions in other camps are worse, and they fear what they might find if they are forced to move.