Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said the discovery of the bomb-making materials late Tuesday in Torcy, east of the capital, led authorities to invoke a rarely used legal clause to allow them to extend questioning of the 12 suspects by a day - and possibly two.
The case amounts to one of the biggest breakups of a suspected Islamic terror cell in years in France, and the international link revived memories of the height of the Iraq war - when counterterrorism authorities dismantled a string of feeder cells that sent or plotted to send fighters to join the combat against U.S.-led allied forces there. - AP
Foreign minister is Chavez's VP
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez named a new vice president on Wednesday, choosing his longtime foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro. Chavez made the announcement at an event where he was declared the winner of Sunday's presidential election.
Maduro has been Venezuela's top diplomat since 2006, and his prominence at government events in recent months had generated speculation that Chavez might choose him as his next vice president. Chavez's next six-year term begins in January.
Chavez's recent struggle with cancer had also led to questions about whom he could choose as a successor if his illness were to worsen.
- AP
Egypt acquits 24 in 'Camel Battle'
CAIRO - An Egyptian court on Wednesday acquitted 24 loyalists of ousted President Hosni Mubarak who had been accused of organizing one of the most dramatic attacks on protesters during last year's uprising, the "Camel Battle," in which assailants on horses and camels charged into crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
The 24 were found not guilty on charges of manslaughter and attempted murder. The defendants included some of the biggest names of Mubarak's regime, including the former parliament speaker and the head of the now-dissolved ruling party.
The Feb. 2, 2011, assault left nearly a dozen people dead and was a turning point in the 18-day wave of protests that led to Mubarak's downfall. - AP
