Gas pipe accident forces evacuation of almost 300 in Moscow

A total of 270 people were evacuated from two buildings in northeastern Moscow after an accident on a low-pressure gas pipeline, a police source said.

A total of 200 residents of the nearby five-storey building were evacuated, as well as 70 people from an administrative building in the immediate vicinity of the pipeline.

"Gas supplies via the damaged pipeline have been suspended, there is no threat of fire," the source said.

The accident scene is cordoned off by police.

Worn-out gas infrastructure often causes breakdowns and blasts of Moscow pipes. Last year, a pipe exploded in west Moscow, sending flames 100-300 meters into the air in what Moscow authorities acknowledged as the capital's largest fire since World War II. Five people were treated for burns and some 70 cars were damaged by the blaze. RIA Novosti

Russia requests extradition of massacre suspects from Ukraine

Russia has sent Ukraine an extradition request for two suspects believed to have been involved in the brutal murder of 12 people in a village in southern Russia, the spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin said.

"We have already sent the relevant documents to Ukraine, necessary for extradition [of the two suspects] to Russia and completing investigations," Markin said.

Vladimir Alekseev and Sergey Ryabtsev, both in their late twenties, have been placed on an Interpol wanted list.

"The prosecution believes that everyone who played a part in the cruel massacre has now been detained," Markin said.

The bodies of 12 people, including eight adults and four children, were found in a house in the village of Kushchevskaya, Krasnodar region, on November 5. The adults were stabbed to death, three of the children were strangled and the other died of smoke inhalation.

Serever Ametov, 51, the farmer who owned the house is believed to have been celebrating a Russian public holiday on November 4 with his family and friends. RIA Novosti

France supports naval technology transfer to Russia

France is ready to transfer warship technology to Russia, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Thursday.

"We see no problem in transferring technology," Fillon said at a joint news conference with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Russia and France are currently in talks on a 2+2 scheme, whereby Russia will buy two French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships and build another two at home.

Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) and France's shipbuilder DCNS in November signed an agreement to form a consortium, which is seen as the most likely winner of a Russian tender to build the two ships

Fillon said he was sure that the talks would be completed. RIA Novosti

Madonna to open second Hard Candy Fitness Center in Moscow

U.S. pop-singer Madonna announced plans on Thursday to open a second Hard Candy Fitness Center in Moscow by mid-March 2011.

"It's especially exciting to have the second Hard Candy Fitness open in Moscow as I really enjoyed the city and the people when I visited during my 'Sticky & Sweet Tour'," Madonna said in a press release on her website.

The gyms aim to reflect Madonna's vision of what an ideal gym should be, including music, lighting and overall design. The new 35,000 square foot center will be located near the Red Square.

The pop-singer founded the concept gym in partnership with her manager Guy Oseary and the New Evolution Ventures (NEV) company.

The new Moscow center will also include a partnership with Irina Razumova, founder of the popular Russian chain Planet Fitness, the press release said.

Following the successful opening of a Hard Candy center in Mexico City last week, the pop singer plans to open gyms in Argentina, Brazil, Europe and Asia. RIA Novosti

Russia-U.S. adoption deal 'unlikely' in 2010 - ombudsman

A Russian-U.S. intergovernmental adoption agreement is unlikely to be signed before the end of the year, children's ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said on Thursday.

"There must be no illusions; we will physically not make it before the end of this year," he said, adding that no date for the beginning of next year had been set.

The U.S. side is "very anxious" to sign a treaty as soon as possible, Astakhov said. "This means it [deal] is likely to pull through".

The ombudsman said on Friday that Russia and the United States had to tie up some loose ends to complete long-running talks on the issue.

Astakhov said earlier he might push for a freeze on adoptions of Russian children by U.S. citizens if the two countries failed to seal the agreement by early 2011.

Russia is one of the largest sources of adoptions for U.S. families, accounting for about 10 percent of foreign adoptions. The mistreatment of Russian children adopted in the United States has attracted public attention in recent months as a result of a number of highly publicized incidents.

In April, a 7-year-old boy was placed alone on a one-way flight to Moscow by his U.S. adoptive mother with a note claiming he was "psychopathic". RIA Novosti

Belarus to ratify Unified Economic Space papers by 2011

Belarus will ratify documents on the Unified Economic Space with Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine before January 1, 2011, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said after summit in the Kremlin on Thursday.

"I pledge that we will do this [ratify all the necessary documents] before both Russia and Kazakhstan... before January 1," Lukashenko said. "The most important thing is that we allow enterprises in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus to compete under the unified economic space".

The Belarusian leader thanked Russia for abating his country's concerns about export duties on oil and oil products.

Earlier in the day Russia's Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina said Russia would cancel oil export duties for Belarus from January 1, if Minsk ratifies all agreements to create a Unified Economic Space. The decision will save Belarus almost $4 billion.

The Unified Economic Space will allow the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor, and a coherent macroeconomic policy between the member countries. RIA Novosti

Actor Wesley Snipes begins prison term for tax evasion

Actor Wesley Snipes has arrived at a federal prison in the US state of Pennsylvania to start a three-year sentence for tax evasion.

Snipes arrived shortly before a 1700 GMT deadline at the Federal Correction Institution McKean in Lewis Run.

The 48-year-old star of the Blade films was convicted in Florida in 2008 of failing to file tax returns.

In a TV interview on Tuesday night, he said he was not nervous about reporting to prison.

Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman, Ed Ross, confirmed Snipes had arrived, adding: "He'll go through an orientation process and will begin serving his sentence".

Snipes's lawyer says the case contains irregularities and the White Men Can't Jump and Demolition Man actor will seek a review.

The prison houses 300 inmates, is minimum security and has no perimeter fencing.

However, there are five roll calls a day, three of them overnight, Associated Press news agency reports.

Snipes, who earned millions for the Blade series, can spend less than $300 a month in prison facilities. BBC News

Croatia ex-PM Ivo Sanader leaves country amid inquiry

Former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has quit the country amid a corruption inquiry, but reportedly denies fleeing from prosecution.

Mr Sanader, now an independent MP, crossed the border into Slovenia hours before parliament voted to lift his immunity from prosecution.

Investigators have been focusing on officials from the ruling HDZ party who were in office under Mr Sanader.

Brussels has put pressure on EU-hopeful Croatia to stamp out corruption.

Mr Sanader was in power from 2003 until he stepped down in July 2009 in a surprise move.

He was expelled from the HDZ in January but carried on as an independent MP, and so he still enjoyed immunity from prosecution.

But all 104 parliamentarians present at the vote chose to lift his immunity.

The BBC's Balkans correspondent Mark Lowen says Mr Sanader has been linked to corruption allegations involving the Austrian bank Hypo, and he is the highest-profile politician in the country to be facing investigation. BBC News

Facebook founder Zuckerberg to give away most of wealth

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has become one of the latest billionaires to pledge to give away the majority of his wealth.

He is one of 17 new people to support a group, founded by Bill Gates and his wife along with Warren Buffett, which encourages America's wealthiest to publicly promise to donate to charity.

At 26, Mark Zuckerberg is one of the youngest to sign up.

Earlier this year, he gave $100m in shares to schools in New Jersey.

"People wait until late in their career to give back. But why wait when there is so much to be done?" he asked in a statement.

"With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts".

Mr Zuckerberg, estimated to be worth $6.9bn (£4.4bn), was placed 35th in this year's Forbes list of the richest people in the US.

The Giving Pledge initiative was launched earlier this year. It was announced in August that 40 individuals or families had taken the pledge. BBC News

Royal car attacked in protest after MPs' fee vote

A car containing Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall has been attacked amid violence after MPs voted to raise university tuition fees in England.

A window was cracked and their car hit by paint, but the couple were unharmed.

In angry scenes, protesters battled with police in Parliament Square. Hundreds were later contained on Westminster Bridge by officers.

Police say 12 officers and 43 protesters have been injured, while 22 arrests were made.

Prime Minister David Cameron said it was "shocking and regrettable" that protesters had attacked the prince's car.

Clarence House said the royal couple were safe and attending the Royal Variety performance as scheduled.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said there would be a "very serious and very detailed investigation" into the disturbances, in which 10 police officers have been injured.

The vote will mean fees will almost treble to £9,000 a year. The government's majority was cut by three-quarters to 21 in a backbench rebellion. Three ministerial aides resigned.

Only 28 Lib Dem MPs - less than half - voted for the government's plans for tuition fees. Six Conservative MPs voted against.

Violent scenes

There were angry clashes as protesters - some throwing missiles - fought to break through police lines.

Riot police had to force back protesters who were smashing windows of the Treasury and the Supreme Court.

Earlier, protesters had largely taken over Parliament Square and pressed against lines of police in front of the Houses of Parliament.

Mounted police were used to control crowds, at one point charging a group of protesters, as thousands of demonstrators protested outside the Houses of Parliament.

Other reported actions taken by the protesters include:

• Setting the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square alight
• Smashing windows at shops in Oxford Street
• Vandalising statues in Parliament Square, including that of Winston Churchill
• A sit-in by about 150 students at the National Gallery

Superintendent Julia Pendry said officers had come under sustained attack and condemned "acts of wanton vandalism, wanton violence" by protesters.

In violent scenes earlier, the BBC's Mark Georgiou said there had been injuries to both police and protesters near to Westminster Abbey.

The Metropolitan Police say there have been attacks using "flares, sticks, snooker balls and paint balls".

Students from around the UK gathered in London for a day of protests and a rally - with police expecting about 20,000 demonstrators.

The coalition government faced its first major backbench rebellion in the vote.

The BBC's Ben Brown, outside Parliament, said protesters shouted "shame on you" as news of the result filtered out to the crowd.

The package of measures will see fees rising to an upper limit of £9,000 per year - with requirements for universities to protect access for poorer students if they charge more than £6,000 per year. BBC News

Vatican plans to restore photo archive

VATICAN CITY, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The Vatican has announced plans to restore 7 million papal photographs in the archives of its newspaper and put them into digital format.

While the majority of pictures in the files of L'Osservatore Romano depict Pope John Paul II, they go back to the reign of Pius XI, who was pope just before World War II. Four-fifths of the images are in color, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

The Rev. Giuseppe Colombara, head of the Vatican photography department, said the restoration is expected to take five years and could cost $4 million. He said much of the work will have to be done by hand.

The archive includes famous images such as Pope Pius XII, arms open, during a 1943 visit to a bombed neighborhood in Rome and John Paul II on a Mexican trip holding a local child on his shoulders. John Paul, who had the second-longest reign in the history of the papacy, allowed almost every aspect of his life to be documented, and 6 million of the images in the archive are of him. UPI

Web sites disabled prior to Nobel ceremony

SHANGHAI, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Several Western news Web sites apparently were blocked in China Thursday, one day before a Chinese man is to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The news Web sites of CNN, BBC and Norwegian broadcaster NRK have been disabled in Shanghai as Liu Xiaobo, an imprisoned dissident who led a pro-democracy campaign in China, will be awarded the prize in absentia in Oslo, CNN reported.

The Chinese government said Western countries are trying to impose their own values on China.

CNN said its and BBC television broadcasts recently have gone dark repeatedly in China during news items about Liu's upcoming award -- then the broadcasts come back on.

In the weeks leading to the prize ceremony, Beijing has urged foreign governments to boycott the event and has repeatedly referred to Liu as a criminal, CNN reported.

The Nobel committee sent 65 invitations to foreign embassies in Oslo and indicated 19 countries had declined to attend Friday's ceremony for various reasons. Ukraine and the Philippines, which had initially declined, reversed their position for unknown reasons and will attend, CNN reported.

"It is a signal to China that it would be very important for China's future to combine economic development with political reforms and support for those in China fighting for basic human rights," said Thorbjoern Jagland, the chairman of the Nobel committee, adding the award to Liu was not intended as an insult to China.

"By awarding this year's Nobel Peace Prize to a criminal serving his sentence because of breaking Chinese law, the Norwegian Nobel Committee's move constitutes open support of illegal criminal activities in China and flagrant interference in China's judicial sovereignty. The erroneous decision not only has met with firm opposition by the entire Chinese nation, but is dismissed by the vast majority of countries upholding justice in the world," said Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, adding she was unaware of any Internet problems. UPI

Ban on Tori Stafford murder trial lifted

OTTAWA, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court of Canada gave the news media permission Thursday to report a guilty plea in one of Canada's most notorious child abduction-killing cases.

The ruling lets news organizations say Terri-Lynne McClintic, 19, one of two people accused in the 2009 slaying of 8-year-old Victoria Stafford of Woodstock, Ontario, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Until now, the plea and sentencing, along with other information revealed in court, was subject to a sweeping and controversial gag order.

The Supreme Court partially lifted the order when it rejected an appeal by the lawyer of McClintic's ex-boyfriend, Michael Thomas Rafferty, to keep everything under wraps.

Rafferty, 29, who has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and murder, is to be tried separately in the same case. His lawyers want his trial moved from Woodstock.

Rafferty lawyer Dirk Derstine said he was concerned publication of any material related to McClintic's case would prevent his client from getting a fair trial, The Globe and Mail reported.

While rejecting Rafferty's appeal, Justice Dougald McDermid ruled that because Rafferty's trial was still pending, only McClintic's plea, sentencing and agreed statements of fact may be reported. Some details of McClintic's case will remain shielded, the court ruled.

McClintic admitted in court to luring third-grader Tori as she walked home from school April 8, 2009, Postmedia News said. The girl's remains were found in a secluded field in rural Ontario July 19.

"Every time I close my eyes, I'm flooded with the memories of that day," McClintic testified in court. "I will never forget what happened, the mistakes I made, the failure I was". UPI

Hero cancer survivor pleads guilty

SURREY, British Columbia, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A man who became famous in Canada as a cancer survivor after losing a leg at the age of 12 has pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property.

Steve Fonyo of Surrey, British Columbia, also admitted threatening his wife, unauthorized use of credit card information, driving while his license was revoked on multiple occasions and parole violations, The Province reported. He was being held pending sentencing in the Provincial Court in Surrey in January.

Fonyo, 43, became a national hero when he ran across Canada in 1985 on an artificial leg to raise money for cancer. He was awarded the Order of Canada but was stripped of the honor this year because of his string of criminal convictions.

In August, Fonyo married Lisa Greenwood on a beach named after him. Two months later he was arrested when she called police during an argument.

Greenwood told the Oak Bay News she and her husband had been fighting about money. She said she became worried enough to call police but had not wanted him arrested or charged. UPI

Japan urged to apologize to comfort women

This year is the centennial of the Japanese annexation of Korea, an anniversary that has spurred calls for an official apology and compensation, Kyodo News reported Dec. 2. During World War II, Japan drafted millions of Korean men into forced labor and thousands into its military while about 500,000 "comfort women" provided sexual services for Japanese soldiers.

Petitions signed by more than 600,000 people in Japan, South Korea and other countries were delivered to the prime minister this month. A South Korean legislator, Lee Mi-kyong, addressed a rally outside the Diet, Japan's parliament.

''It is quite important to restore the human rights of the victims,'' she said.

Kil Won-ok, 82, also spoke, saying she tried to conceal her past as a comfort woman for many years. She said she now wants to share what she went through "to reveal the truth about history and terminate wars so victims like me will never be created again". UPI

Study says clouds could amplify warming

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Changes in the Earth's cloud cover will amplify global warming of the planet caused by human activities, a U.S. researcher says.

Andrew Dessler, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M, says warming due to increases in greenhouse gases will cause clouds to absorb more heat, which will lead to additional warming, a university release said Thursday.

"It's a vicious cycle -- warmer temperatures mean clouds trap more heat, which in turn leads to even more warming," Dessler says.

Climate models had long predicted that cloud feedback would amplify warming from human activities, and data from an instrument aboard a NASA satellite confirms it, Dessler says.

Some climate researchers have suggested clouds might cool the planet or at least keep temperatures stable, but Dessler's study supports the opposite theory, that clouds will make things even warmer.

"Based on my results, I think the chances that clouds will save us from dramatic climate change are pretty low," he says. "In fact, my work shows that clouds will likely be amplifying the warming from human activities".

"I think we can be pretty confident that temperatures will rise by several degrees Celsius over the next century if we continue our present trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions". UPI

Medicare payment cut stopped

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. House Thursday gave final approval to a measure that prevents a cut in Medicare payments to doctors through next year.

The House voted 409-2 to approve the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010 adopted by the Senate Wednesday, sending it to President Obama for signature, Modern Healthcare reported.

The American Medical Association hailed passage of the measure, which prevents payments to doctors from being cut 25 percent as of Jan. 1. Thirteen percent of doctors told an American Academy of Family Physicians survey they would have to close their practices if the cut took effect.

"Many physicians made it clear that this year's roller coaster ride, caused by five delays of this year's cut, forced them to make difficult practice changes like limiting the number of Medicare patients they could treat," the AMA said in a statement.

The bill is to be paid for by a change in policy on overpayments of the healthcare affordability tax credit. UPI

Ex-radical sincere in denouncing terror?

NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A U.S. Muslim convert whose extremist Web site was dismantled says he never meant to harm civilians.

Yousef al-Khattab, born Joseph Cohen, converted to Islam after living in Israel and began the Revolution Muslim Web site, preaching a message of radical Islam online and at rallies, CNN reported Thursday.

Many of al-Khattab's followers are under arrest, so it is unclear whether he is sincere or is simply afraid, CNN said.

Al-Khattab now says the Web site became a "bug light for Muslim misfits".

"It was an idiotic thing, looking back on things now," al-Khattab said, characterizing terrorists the world over who attack civilians as "disgusting".

In the last 18 months, eight of 27 reported U.S. terror suspects visited or blogged on Revolution Muslim and the Islamic Thinkers Society, another extremist New York organization in which al-Khattab was involved, CNN reported.

Al-Khattab said he is risking speaking on camera to denounce his past activities because he will now be an enemy of his former radical associates.

"If you think that this is the direction, to come to the United States and bomb and blow up civilians, you're terribly wrong and that was never ever the message that I wanted to give," al-Khattab said, adding it isn't his fault his action may have caused others to kill innocent people.

"That's like somebody reading 'Helter Skelter' and saying ... it influenced him to do the same thing. I can't help that," he said. UPI

Pelosi announces upcoming ranking members

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday the House Democratic Caucus approved ranking members on five committees.

The members of the House committees for the upcoming 112th congressional term recommended by the Steering and Policy Committee and approved by the Caucus are Henry Waxman of California, Energy and Commerce Committee; Norm Dicks of Washington, Appropriations Committee; Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Financial Services Committee; Sander Levin of Michigan, Ways and Means Committee; and Robert Brady of Pennsylvania, Committee on House Administration, Pelosi's Web site, speaker.gov, reported.

"The vast experience and wealth of knowledge of these distinguished members prepares them to continue addressing the challenges facing our country as ranking members in the 112th Congress. I look forward to working with all of our ranking members and the new Republican committee chairmen to create jobs and reduce the deficit in a bipartisan way," Pelosi said. UPI

'Don't ask, don't tell' fails Senate test

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Efforts to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy against gays lost a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate Thursday, 57-40.

Democrats needed 60 votes to begin consideration of the 2011 defense authorization bill, which included the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal proposal.

The Washington Post reported Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had been involved in negotiations all week with Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph Lieberman, Ind-Conn., to push the bill through before the end of the lame-duck session by allowing five of 10 proposed Republican amendments to be added.

"We've tried every possible way to do this," Reid, D-Nev., said before the vote.

President Obama supports repeal of the policy, which prohibits gays from openly serving in the military. A federal judge has ruled the policy unconstitutional, but Obama and Pentagon officials prefer a legislative solution that would allow for a more orderly implementation of a new policy.

"History will hold these senators accountable and so will many of their constituents," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. "There will be no place for these senators to hide. The Senate and the president must remain in session and in Washington to find another path for repeal to get done in the lame-duck".

Thursday's vote makes it more likely Obama will have to take some action, possibly by directing the Department of Justice to stop appealing the judge's order or by issuing an executive order ending expulsion of gays from the military. UPI

DuPont heir dies in prison

SOMERSET, Pa., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- DuPont fortune heir John E. du Pont, convicted of the 1996 murder of Olympic wrestler David Schulz, died of natural causes, Pennsylvania prison officials said.

He was 72.

Corrections spokeswoman Sue Bensinger said du Pont was found unresponsive in his Laurel Highland State Correctional Facility cell in Somerset County Thursday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Bensinger said he had been ill for some time.

Du Pont, described as a paranoid schizophrenic during his trial, was sentenced to 13 to 30 years in prison in 1997 for the shooting death the previous year of Schulz outside his home. Schulz, a 1984 gold medalist, had been living on the du Pont estate in Newtown Square where his wife was head of security. No motive for the shooting ever was developed, Wikipedia reported.

Du Pont locked himself in his mansion for two days after the shooting, negotiating with police by telephone.

He was convicted Feb. 25, 1997, of third-degree murder but mentally ill.

Schulz's widow and children received a multimillion-dollar settlement as a result of a wrongful death lawsuit, Wikipedia said.

Du Pont recently lost an appeal arguing a motion sickness drug he had been taking might have worsened his mental state. The prosecution had argued he had been taking cocaine.

Du Pont, who earned a zoology degree from the University of Miami in 1965 and a doctorate in natural science from Villanova in 1973, was born Jan. 1, 1919, in Philadelphia to William du Pont Jr. and Jean Liseter Austin. UPI

Paris airport normal again after big snow

PARIS, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris returned to normal Thursday night but Germany's airports were still closed or disrupted from heavy snowfall, officials said.

The Eiffel Tower's first floor reopened as 4 inches of snow and ice melted in the sun. Officials do not use salt on the iron lattice tower out of fear of damaging it. The relentless heavy snowfall east of the city forced a border crossing on the A31 auto route between France and Luxembourg -- also popular with travelers from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany -- to close.

French commuters were urged not to drive unless it was absolutely necessary, CNN reported.

One person died in a crash in western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state, near the French border.

Meanwhile, Scotland mobilized the army to clear up nearly 3 feet of snow and ice in the capital, Edinburgh, officials said.

The army focused on thick ice and snow still on side streets and sidewalks after days of sub-freezing temperatures, The Guardian reported.

German aviation officials canceled at least 450 flights at Frankfurt am Main Airport, some 200 flights at Berlin Tegel and Berlin-Schoenefeld airports and close to 100 flights at Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport.

Schoenefeld airport was to remain closed to incoming flights until 8 a.m. local time Friday due to a shortage of de-icing fluid, said the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, or Eurocontrol.

Colombian pop singer-songwriter Shakira canceled a Wednesday night concert in Frankfurt because she couldn't take off from Paris, the German news agency DAPD reported.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon missed a special gala performance by Russian and French dancers at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater due to flight delays. UPI

PayPal target of cyberattack

NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- WikiLeaks backers began a cyberattack Thursday on PayPal after the online payment site stopped accepting donations for the whistle-blower site, officials said.

It was the latest in a series of retaliatory attacks on the Web sites of multinational companies and other organizations that Internet activists deemed hostile to the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy organization and its jailed founder, Julian Assange, The New York Times reported.

Earlier, Internet activists brought down the Swedish government's Web site and threatened more attacks in an escalating cyber battle.

The official Swedish site was offline for several hours overnight with a message saying the site could not be accessed, Britain's Daily Telegraph said.

Swedish prosecutors issued an international arrest warrant against Assange on sexual assault allegations.

Commercial Web sites, including Visa and MasterCard, already had been blitzed after saying they no longer would do business with WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing Web site that recently made available more than 250,000 U.S. State Department cables, some of which were included in several newspaper articles.

A group called "Anonymous" claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were carrying out "Operation Payback".

Dutch authorities said they arrested a 16-year-old boy suspected of being involved in attacks on the Web sites of MasterCard and Visa, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Assange was in a London jail after he surrendered to authorities earlier this week. The charges filed by Swedish prosecutors are not related to WikiLeaks, and Assange said the sexual assault allegations are part of a smear campaign.

A 22-year-old software engineer in London who goes by the moniker "Coldblood" said the cyberattacks by Anonymous aren't over, several British publications reported. Actions so far have been a "distributed denial of service," in which the target site is hit with a huge number of visitors intent on forcing the site to exceed its capacity and crash.

"The campaign is not over, it's still going strong. More and more people are joining," the Telegraph reported Coldblood as saying. "I see this as becoming a war -- but not a traditional war. This is a war of data. We are trying to keep the Internet free for everyone".

Coldblood said Web sites seen as "bowing down to government pressure" are targets, The Daily Mail reported.

"We feel that WikiLeaks has become more than just about leaking of documents, it has become a war ground, the people versus the government," Coldblood said. "The idea is not to wipe them off but to give the companies a wake-up call".

Anonymous has been tied to attacks on Web sites belonging to the Church of Scientology and the music industry. UPI

Somalia's pirates take to the high seas

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Somali pirates who have plagued the shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden for the last few years have been steadily moving eastward to evade international naval forces protecting maritime traffic.

The pirates' latest strike was off the coast of India, hundreds of miles from their usual haunts.

On Dec. 5, sea bandits hijacked the MV Jahan Mori, a Bangladeshi freighter carrying 41,000 tons of nickel ore from Indonesia bound for Greece. The pirates seized the 25 Bangladeshis, including the wife of one of the crewmen, aboard. The hijacked vessel was seen heading toward Somalia.

The Somali marauders currently hold 23 ships and 531 crewmembers, the EU Naval Force, one of the international units patrolling the Gulf of Aden, says.

The seizure of the Jahan Mori was the furthest east the pirates have been reported, apparently driven from home waters by the naval task forces that usually number around 40 warships and supply vessels from 30 countries.

But it's a process that's been under way for more than a year after several pirate teams were captured by international forces.

Hijackings have been reported off the Seychelles and Madagascar 1,000 miles south of the Gulf of Aden. One ship was seized 1,300 nautical miles east of Somalia earlier this year.

These days, the pirates also prey on shipping in the Red Sea, north of the Gulf of Aden, where international naval forces lack clear authority to go after the marauders.

Foreign navies have U.N. Security Council mandates to hunt pirates in Somalia's territorial waters with advance notice using "all necessary means." But the Red Sea is beyond their jurisdiction.

"Despite an unprecedented deployment of international naval assets, this year has once again seen a record number of successful attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean," said Christian Le Miere of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London think tank.

"The attacks have been displaced further out into the ocean, at times 1,000 nautical miles from the coast of Somalia, stretching the resources of the international naval deployers".

"What's allowed them to do this is the acquisition of larger mother ships, such as large fishing trawlers and midsize cargo ships," said analyst Ben West of the Texas global security consultancy Stratfor.

"We've also noticed more recently they've been leapfrogging. For example, they can hijack a fishing vessel or a cargo ship maybe 500 or 600 miles from the coast of Somalia, and instead of taking it back to Somalia, they … go further east".

Adm. Hank Ort of the Netherlands navy, who commanded the NATO naval force earlier this year, said the lack of employment prospects in war-torn Somalia and the lure of easy money led many men to join the pirates.

The ransoms demanded by the pirates are increasing. The average is around $12 million per ship and crew. Ship owners pay an average of $10 million per ship, usually in deals brokered through middlemen in Kenya and the United Arab Emirates.

According to Clayton Consultants, a U.S. security firm, the negotiations now last twice as long as they did in 2009.

The number of ship hijackings in the Gulf of Aden has fallen over the last year or so, with U.S. and European warships driving off pirate attacks or rescuing crews aboard pirate-held vessels.

U.S. Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded the German-owned MV Magellan Star container ship in the gulf Sept. 9, capturing nine pirates who had seized it the day before off Yemen.

Russian naval infantry recaptured a Russian-owned oil tanker, the Moscow University, May 6 after a short firefight.

But ship owners are increasingly opting to take the protection of their vessels into their own hands rather than rely on the international armada in the Gulf of Aden and turn their ships in floating fortresses.

This is particularly true of the Germans, who own the world's third-largest commercial fleet. They drape razor wire around the ships to deter boarders, install sonar cannons or laser guns to deafen and blind attackers.

But the favored tactic seems to be a steel-walled safe room, or "citadel," where crewmen can hide and control the vessel while radioing for help. UPI