French Secret Service Knew of al-Qaida Plot

April 16, 2007 -- 9/11 ATTACK

Report: French Knew of al-Qaida Plot

The French intelligence service learned as early as January 2001 that al-Qaida was working on a plot to hijack U.S. airliners, and it passed the information on to the CIA, a report in the French newspaper La Monde said Monday. (AP)

Original La Monde Article: 11 Septembre 2001 : Les Français en Savaient Long (La Monde)

IRAQ NEWS

Influential Shiite Cleric Orders Allies to Quit Iraqi Cabinet

Political followers of the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr said Monday that their six cabinet ministers would quit their posts in government to protest the refusal of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to set a timetable for American troops to withdraw from Iraq. (International Herald Tribune)

Ambush Kills 13 Iraqi Servicemen

At least 13 Iraqi soldiers have been killed in an ambush in the northern city of Mosul, police say. (BBC)

Two Die As UK Helicopters Crash

Two British helicopters have crashed in Iraq, killing two military personnel and seriously injuring another. (BBC)

70% of Iraqi Schoolchildren Show Trauma-Related Symptoms

About 70% of primary school students in a Baghdad neighborhood suffer symptoms of trauma-related stress such as bed-wetting or stuttering, according to a survey by the Iraqi Ministry of Health. (USA Today)

Car Bomb Hits Iraq Bus Station, 37 Killed

Insurgents exploded a car bomb Saturday near one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines in Karbala, killing at least 37 people and wounding more than 150 in another bloody assault during a surge of violence outside Baghdad during the capital's security crackdown. At least 16 children were among the dead, officials said. (AP)

U.S.

At Least 20 Killed in Virginia Tech Shooting: Official

At least 20 people, including the suspected gunman, were killed in a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech university on Monday, police and university officials said. (Reuters)

FCC Announces Radio Payola Deal

The FCC announced today that four giant radio broadcasters have agreed to settle an investigation into charges they took "payola" from major record labels. (ABC News)

Terror Trial to Begin for Jose Padilla

Five years after his arrest at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, Jose Padilla heads to court but with no mention of the "dirty bomb" allegations that first made headlines. (AP)

FRANCE/AFGHANISTAN

Canadian Broadcaster Obtains Video That Shows French Hostages In Afghanistan

A video showing two French aid workers and three Afghan men traveling with them who were apparently taken hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan surfaced on Friday. (AP)

Link To CBC Online Article and 2 Stills Of Hostages (CBC Online)

IRAN

Iran to Seek Bids for Two Atomic Power Plants

Iran, embroiled in a row with the West over its nuclear ambitions, will issue tenders in the next few days for two new atomic power plants, a senior official said on Sunday. (Reuters)

Crackdown on the Secret War Against Iran

Pakistani security sources tell ABC News that the Iranian and Pakistani governments have launched a crackdown on the Baluchi militant group Jundullah, which ABC News reported has been secretly encouraged and advised by U.S. officials to stage guerrilla attacks inside Iran. (ABC News)

AFGHANISTAN

Suicide Attack Kills 10 in Afghanistan

A suicide bomber ran onto a police training field and blew himself up, killing up to 10 policemen and wounding dozens of others Monday in northern Afghanistan, officials said. (AP)

MOROCCO

New Suicide Attacks Hit Morocco

Two suicide bombers have blown themselves up in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, officials say. (BBC)

U.S./SOUTH KOREA

US-Korean Man Jailed For Spying

An American man of Korean origin has been sentenced to nine years in jail by a South Korean court for spying for Communist North Korea. (BBC)

KIDNAPPED BRITISH JOURNALIST

Palestinian Group: BBC Journalist Slain

A previously unknown Palestinian group said Sunday it had killed a British journalist kidnapped over a month ago by gunmen in Gaza City, but the claim could not be confirmed. (AP)

RUSSIA

Russia Police Detain Dozens for 2nd Day

Riot police beat and detained dozens of anti-Kremlin demonstrators Sunday on a second day of protests that tested the weak opposition's ability to challenge widely popular President Vladimir Putin. (AP)

ITALY/U.S.

Italy Opens Murder Trial of U.S. Soldier

An American soldier is being tried in absentia Tuesday for the killing of an Italian intelligence agent at a checkpoint in Iraq two years ago _ a case that has strained relations between Italy and the United States. (Washington Post)

WAR CRIMES

War Crimes Trial of Macedonian Ex-Minister Opens

Former Macedonian minister Ljube Boskovski and his bodyguard, Johan Tarculovski, accused over attacks against ethnic Albanians in 2001, went on trial before the UN war crimes court Monday. (AFP)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Iranian Retaliation after A US Attack Can Hurt

By Wayne White

At a time when there exists a very real possibility of eventual United States or Israeli military action against Iran's nuclear infrastructure, it is important to focus on the potentially devastating impact of such action on the stability of the Gulf, the already fragile situation in Iraq, and repercussions even farther afield. (Daily Star)

Geopolitical Diary: Russia's Authoritarian Regime Shows Its Face

The violent police response to such insignificant demonstrations and the arrest of several prominent dissidents were part of the Russian government's move to show the public what its return to an authoritarian regime will look like. (Stratfor)

No Time for Courtesies

By Hussein Shobokshi

It has become normal to see the most famous trademarks over all five continents of the world and in different countries regardless of their sizes and in cities and villages without exception. However, the odd thing is that the same applies to terrorist movements such as Al Qaeda! (Asharq Alawsat)

TMideast Relations 101

By Jackson Diehl

We all know that the United States has never been more unpopular in the Middle East. That, anyway, is what polls tell us -- one out recently from the Brookings Institution reported that for the first time, the U.S. president is more disliked among Arabs than the prime minister of Israel. (Washington Post)

The New Cold War

The demise of the Cold War was not the end of geopolitics. Indeed the Cold War may be back in a limited edition version, going by warning statements in the Russian Duma that Washington, by basing 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, is harking back to it. (Times of India)

Whose Job is it, Anyway?

We have long suspected that there is no one in charge of the Iraq war. How else can you explain four years of multifront failures, including President George W. Bush's most recent plan to order even more U.S. troops to risk their lives there without demanding any political sacrifice or even compromise from Iraq's leaders? So we were not surprised to hear that White House officials are looking for someone to oversee both Iraq and the faltering Afghanistan war- and not surprised that they were having a tough time filling the job. (International Herald Tribune)

The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham and Elizabeth Sprague of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.