Washington: A top US Senator has said that the bomb maker, who created at least two non-metallic explosive devices to blow up a US-bound airliner, must be killed to safeguard the security of the country.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, also said that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is the top security threat to the United States.

AP) MONTERREY, Mexico - Forty-nine bodies with their heads, hands and feet hacked off were found Sunday dumped on a northern Mexico highway leading to the Texas border in what appeared to be the latest carnage in an escalating war between Mexico's two dominant drug cartels.

Local and federal authorities discovered the bodies before dawn scattered in a pool of blood at the entrance to the town of San Juan, on a highway leading from the metropolis of Monterrey to the border city of Reynosa. A white stone arch welcoming visitors was spray-painted with black letters: "100% Zeta."

The UN Security Council has condemned car bomb attacks that killed at least 55 people and wounded almost 400 in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Thursday.

The council urged all sides to "immediately and comprehensively" implement the peace plan for Syria.

Syrian officials say "foreign-backed terrorists" carried out a twin suicide car-bomb attack in Damascus.

Beirut - A blast that hit troops escorting UN observers in Syria's south on Wednesday was "a graphic example of violence that the Syrian people do not need", said UN observer chief Major General Robert Mood.

The incident in the southern city of Daraa came a day after UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan warned that his peace plan could be the last chance to avoid civil war.

A plot by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to attack a US-bound plane using an updated "underwear bomb" was foiled by an insider infiltrating a terror cell, US officials say.

The seized device is being examined by the FBI in Quantico, Virginia, while the source is said to have left Yemen.

The White House counter-terrorism says the bomb was never an "active threat".

Socialist Francois Hollande defeated conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday to become France’s next president, heralding a change in how Europe tackles its debt crisis and how France flexes its military and diplomatic muscle around the world.

Mr Sarkozy conceded defeat minutes after the polls closed, saying he had called Mr Hollande to wish him “good luck” as the country’s new leader.

Vladimir Putin has been sworn in as Russia’s president for a third term after four years as prime minister.

Putin was first elected president in 2000 and the new six-year term will keep him in power until 2018.

Quetta: Thousands of people rallied in Quetta on Wednesday to pay tribute to al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on his first death anniversary, witnesses said.

More than 1,500 activists from a pro-Taliban religious political party gathered in the city’s central Mezan Square, carrying bin Laden posters, shouting “Long Live Osama” and torched a US flag, reports the Daily Times.

Stunt woman Jolene Van Vugt was flushed with pride Wednesday after setting a new land speed record for the fastest motorised toilet.

Canadian stuntwoman Jolene Van Vugt recorded a speed of 75km/h (46mph) in Sydney, beating the previous record by 7km/h.

The parliamentary committee that's been investigating U.K. phone-hacking and media ethics released its much-anticipated report on Tuesday in London, concluding Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman and chief executive, is "not fit" to lead a major international media company.

Murdoch, the select committee found, "turned a blind eye and exhibited willful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications."