GERMANY
Germany sees new form of far-right terrorism
BERLIN — Germany’s interior minister said the country is witnessing “a new form of far-right terrorism” following the discovery of a group suspected of killing 10 people.
Hans-Peter Friedrich told reporters in Berlin that investigators must focus on determining whether the group was isolated or part of a wider network.
He said the killings represent a new form of terrorism because the group did not publicly claim responsibility or vaunt its actions within the far-right scene.
Federal prosecutors said a fourth member suspected of belonging to the terrorist group calling itself the National Socialist Underground was arrested early Sunday.
Prosecutors suspect the group of having murdered a German policewoman, eight people of Turkish origin and one Greek national over the past decade.
RUSSIA
Spacecraft set to launch on delayed mission
MOSCOW — A Russian cosmonaut said the three-man U.S.-Russian crew was thinking positively as they prepared to blast off for the International Space Station.
The mission had been delayed for two months after a failed launch of an unmanned cargo ship in August. The upper stage of the Soyuz booster rocket that carries the cargo ships into orbit is similar to that used to launch astronauts.
Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov said Saturday that the crew “has no black thoughts and full confidence in our technology.”
Their Soyuz craft is to lift off from the Russian-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Monday.
They will arrive at the orbiting station just in time to prevent it from being abandoned temporarily when the three men currently there return to Earth.
FRANCE
Syrian ambassador summoned over attacks
PARIS — France on Sunday condemned protesters’ attacks on diplomatic missions in Syria and has summoned the Syrian ambassador, the Foreign Ministry said.
“These attacks are an attempt to intimidate the international community after the Arab League’s courageous decision because of ongoing repression in Syria,” a ministry statement said after the pan-Arab body suspended Syria.
“France condemns with the greatest firmness the unacceptable attacks on its diplomatic and consular interests in Syria,” it said.
A diplomat in Paris who asked not to be named said, “People came in front of our missions and tried to get in but didn’t succeed. There was some material damage, windows broken, plaques damaged, flags taken.”
France has taken the lead at the U.N. Security Council in recent months to try to obtain strong condemnation of the oppression in Syria.
The Foreign Ministry said it “particularly condemns the destruction of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Damascus and expresses its solidarity with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it does with all targeted countries.”
UNITED KINGDOM
Queen leads ceremony honoring war dead
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II led thousands of veterans and civilians in a tribute to the country’s war dead at the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony.
The service at central London’s Cenotaph war memorial, held on a sunny autumn morning, is a focal point of nationwide observances to honor those who lost their lives in fighting. Similar ceremonies were held in dozens of towns and cities throughout Britain and military outposts in Afghanistan and around the world.
The queen placed the first wreath at the foot of the memorial, then bowed in front of the Cenotaph, with its inscription honoring “The Glorious Dead.” She was followed by her husband, Prince Philip, her son Prince Charles and grandson Prince William.
From a nearby balcony, William’s wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, looked on with other royal women.
The ceremony takes place every year on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, although the day now also pays tribute to the dead in all conflicts, including World War II and Afghanistan.
The royals were joined by thousands of servicemen and well-wishers who lined the sidewalks to applaud aging veterans as they marched past.
• From wire dispatches and staff reports
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