Arias Trial Puts Mormon Sex Rules in Spotlight

The murder trial of Jodi Arias has been filled with salacious details of phone sex, graphic text messages, and an erotic sexual relationship between her and her devout Mormon ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.

Arias, 32, converted to Mormonism when she began to date Alexander, then 29, in 2006. Though they were both outwardly devout, they immediately developed a sexual relationship.

The trial has cast a spotlight on the tight-knit Mormon community in Mesa, Ariz., and its strict social mores, including a ban on premarital sex. According to Patrick Mason, a professor of religion who specializes in Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University in California, the trial shows the difficulty Mormons face in coping wiith the church's demand for chastity.

"The LDS church puts a really high priority on complete chastity," Mason said. "They define that as no sexual relations of any kind outside of marriage between a man and a woman, no premarital sex and no extramarital sex either, and there's actually a lot of time and attention paid to this."

Arias is on trial for murdering Alexander, whom she dated for a year and then continued to have sex with for a year after that. Prosecutors allege she killed him in a fit of jealousy in June 2008, after taking graphic sexual photos with him and having sex earlier in the day.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Former Boyfriend Takes Stand Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense's First Day of Witnesses Watch Video

Arias claims she shot and stabbed Alexander in self defense, and her attorneys have focused on Alexander's secret sex life as proof that he was a "sexual deviant" who was abusive and controlling toward Arias.They claim Alexander, who was considered a church elder, kept Arias his "dirty little secret" because sex outside of marriage was against church rules.

See Full Coverage of Jodi Arias Trial

See Jodi Arias Trial Videos
More than anything, Mason said, this case shows the shockwaves sent through Arizona's Mormon community when those values were breached so flagrantly with a violent killing and the web of lies surrounding it. "Mesa is one of those concentrated areas of historic Mormon settlement."

"Were you shocked to learn (Alexander) was not a virgin?" defense attorney Jennifer Willmott asked Lisa Daidone, who dated Alexander after he broke up with Arias. Alexander and Arias continued to sleep together while he dated Daidone.

"Yes," Daidone said on the stand Wednesday. "I believed he was a virgin."

"Was Mr. Alexander living in accordance with his Mormon principles?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi asked another witness, Daniel Freeman, a Mormon friend of Alexander's in Arizona.

"Yes," Freeman said on the stand Thursday.

"Was there any reason to believe Mr. Alexander was not living up to his Mormon principles as a church elder?"

"No," Freeman said.

Freeman said that Alexander never told him or other church members that he had a sexual relationship with Arias. In fact, Freeman's sister, Desiree Freeman, testified that Alexander made it known he was a virgin when in social settings, and "he joked about it."

The stakes are high for Mormons who choose to have sex, Mason said. They can face excommunication or a tarnished reputation among their closest friends and family members.

"In Mormonism, if you're not married, your social capital is largely defined by preserving your virginity. If it is known that you've had sex before marriage, even if people try to be compassionate and not judgmental, there is no doubt that in Mormon communities and the eyes of other Mormons... it lessens your social standing."

The conflict between Alexander's outer appearances and his secret sexual trysts with Arias is key to the defense's strategy of painting him as an abusive lover. But the testimony has also shown, conversely, how sexually conservative and pure many young Mormons in America are.

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Football: Balotelli settles scores on Milan unveiling

MILAN: AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli hit out at the English media, weather and food, but had kind words for former club Manchester City as he was officially unveiled at the San Siro Friday.

Balotelli, who grew up as a fan of the Rossoneri, joined Milan for a fee of around 30 million euros in a deal that will see him remain at the Serie A giants until 2017.

Although admitting he would miss the "amazing" English Premier League, Balotelli said he was "really happy" to have returned to Milan, where he played for arch city rivals Inter prior to his City move in 2010.

The football aside, the 22-year-old admitted there are few things he will miss about England.

"The press first, the weather, the food," replied Balotelli when asked to expand on an earlier answer about the bad things he experienced during his two-and-a-half-year stay in the Premier League.

To one journalist from The Sun tabloid newspaper, Balotelli took a firmer stance.

"Ever since I arrived in England, your newspaper has always talked bad about me. So I don't want to talk to you," he added.

Seemingly admired and reviled in equal measure in the Premier League, where his off-field antics garnered as much if not more attention than his feats on the pitch, Balotelli said he would miss City, their manager Roberto Mancini and the club's fans.

"I don't have regrets, but I have to say thanks to all the City fans because they have all been nice to me, they always supported me in the good times and the bad," he added.

"I also have to thank my team-mates and the manager (Mancini) as well."

When asked what good things he would miss, Balotelli said: "Good things? Only when I get to play and train, my team-mates and the manager.

"To be honest, the Premier League is an amazing league and I think it's the best."

He added: "The bad things - everything else."

Presented to a 100-strong media by Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani, Balotelli - dressed in a smart suit - was first treated to a video of earlier goalscoring exploits with City.

The video stopped on a famous picture of Balotelli sitting in a Milan cafe while wearing an AC Milan shirt. It was in 2010, while he was still at Inter.

Balotelli was presented with the same number 45 shirt earlier this week, and again on Friday evening.

AC Milan have a reputation for being one of Europe's strictest clubs when it comes to managing their players, and controlling rumours surrounding them.

It remains to be seen if Balotelli, who endured a tumultuous time at City, will get his wish of a successful stay in Milan, where he hopes to remain "for as long as possible".

Asked by AFP of the significance of his move, and what he expects from the different style of football in Serie A, Balotelli replied: "Of course it's a dream come true. (For) a long time I wanted to come here and I couldn't.

"I'm not expecting anything. I'm just looking forward to playing with my teammates."

He added: "I'm here to win, to succeed, to play good football. To play for Milan is very important for me.

"It's an honour, and I want to remain here as long as possible."

- AFP/jc

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At 100, Grand Central still bursting with secrets

Every day, more than 700,000 people pass through Grand Central Terminal in New York, including 200,000 visitors. Yet, while so many people use the famous terminal, few know about some of the terrific secrets it harbors. The famous terminal turned 100 today.

(Credit:
Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

When one of the most famous buildings, let alone the busiest train terminal in the world, turns 100, a lot of people stand up and take notice.

So it should come as no surprise that on its one-hundredth birthday today, the world celebrated the grandeur of Grand Central Terminal, New York's shining beacon to public transportation, still vital and busy after all these years.

In 2010, I had the privilege of visiting Grand Central and getting a behind-the-scenes look at some of its greatest secrets, and some of its most awe-inspiring views. Given the opportunity to view out over the amazing main concourse from a window high above, I was even told in all seriousness that I should wait to stick my head -- and my camera -- out the window until the police had been alerted. My host didn't want me to get shot by cops worried I might be a sniper.

Grand Central is justifiably famous as a transportation hub, but few know about some of its other world-class attributes. Among them are a hidden train station far below dedicated to one task only: getting American presidents in and out of New York in case of emergency; a lost-and-found department that is more efficient than any on earth; a $20 million jewel hidden in plain sight in the concourse; and so much more.

Happy birthday, Grand Central.

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Cops: Armed officer at Atlanta school disarmed shooter

Parents seen waiting for their children outside Price Middle School in Atlanta after one student allegedly shot another, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013.

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CBS Atlanta

(AP) ATLANTA - Atlanta's police chief says an armed officer working at a city middle school where a student was shot was able to disarm the suspect, also a student, moments after the shooting.

Authorities say a 14-year-old boy was shot in the back of the neck Thursday at Price Middle School and his injury does not appear to be life-threatening. The suspect was taken into custody.

Chief George Turner says multiple shots were fired, and only the 14-year-old was wounded. After some initial confusion about the nature of a teacher's injuries, officials now say the teacher received minor cuts in the aftermath of the shooting.

Police spokesman Carlos Campos says investigators believe the shooting was not random and that something occurred between the two people involved that may have led up to it.

Students at the school were kept inside for hours as their parents waited anxiously outside. By 5p.m. children were being reunited with their parents.

Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll Davis says the school has metal detectors and officials are looking into how the gun got on campus.

More on Crimesider
Jan. 31, 2013 - Atlanta School Shooting: Suspect was student at middle school, official says
Jan. 31, 2013 - Atlanta School Shooting: At least two wounded, including student reportedly shot in the head at middle school

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Arias' Ex-Boyfriend Kept Affair Secret

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was kept away from the Mormon friends of her lover Travis Alexander and their torrid sex affair was kept secret by Alexander, even as he sent lewd photos of himself to her online, according to court testimony today.

The testimony in Arias' trial for killing Alexander in 2008 was intended to bolster the defense's argument that she killed him in self defense, that Alexander was a sexual deviant who treated Arias as his "dirty little secret."

Arias' attorneys introduced as evidence photos that Alexadner took of his penis and sent to Arias, part of a string of graphic messages and sexual phone calls the two engaged in while Alexander, an elder in the Mormon church, was supposed to be chaste.

Today's witness was the latest in a string called by the defense, including Alexander's former girlfriend Lisa Daidone, who told the court that Alexander had professed to be a virgin.

Daniel Freeman continued his testimony today, describing how he was a friend of both Arias and Alexander but that Alexander kept Arias distanced from his Mormon pals.

"Travis had made more friends at (the Mormon) ward, and had (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fight nights at his house many times, and Jodi was in town, but she wasn't there," Freeman said.

"There was that group of friends, them and Jodi, two different groups, and so Lisa [Daidone] and friends from church were there, but Jodi wasn't there," Freeman said.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Former Boyfriend Takes Stand Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense's First Day of Witnesses Watch Video

Alexander's behavior, the defense hopes to prove, shows that he mistreated Arias.

Arias, 32, is on trial for murdering Alexander, whom she dated for a year and continued to have a sexual relationship for a year after that. Her attorneys claim that Alexander was abusive and controlling toward Arias, and that she was forced to kill him.

Freeman described how he took a trip with his sister, Alexander, and Arias, and how Alexander had asked him to come along so that he and Arias "would not get physical."

"I don't know that I can say he didn't want to be alone with her, but he liked that when I was there, and my sister was there. They weren't as physical," Freeman said.

Freeman admitted that he had no idea Alexander and Arias had been having a sexual relationship the entire time they were together. He said Alexander never mentioned that to his friends.

In fact, Freeman noted that Alexander was considered to be a church elder when he baptized Arias into the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Both a church elder and a convert were expected to abide by the church's strict law of chastity, which banned any sexual relations outside of marriage.

"One thing people give up in this baptism process was sex," prosecutor Juan Martinez said. "Did you know she was having oral sex with Mr. Alexander at the time of her baptism? Would that be an insincere baptism?"

"She would not be ready to be baptized in that case," Freeman said.

"You were asked about Miss Arias, whether she was worthy of baptism if she was performing oral sex, but what about the elder receiving oral sex?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi said.

"They would not be worthy of performing that ordinance at that time until they had gone through repentance," Freeman said. "They would go to a discipline council and could face excommunication or a probation period or have their priesthood removed."

Freeman said that Alexander never confessed to having a sexual relationship with Arias.

Freeman's testimony came on the third day of the defense's attempt to paint Alexander as a controlling, sex-obsessed liar who was cruel to Arias. Other witnesses have said that Alexander cheated on other women he dated with Arias, and lied to his friends and family about their relationship.

The defense also had Freeman point out that Alexander was strong and fit. They are expected to conclude that Alexander was physically threatening Arias when she killed him.

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Obama's Pentagon pick grilled by Republican critics

WASHINGTON: The Vietnam war veteran picked to lead the Pentagon, Chuck Hagel, faced a rough reception at his confirmation hearing Thursday as Republican critics reopened the bitter debate over the Iraq war and painted him as naive on national security.

In a dramatic exchange, a fellow veteran of Vietnam, Senator John McCain, blasted Hagel for his opposition to the troop surge in Iraq in 2007 and demanded Hagel declare if he had been wrong.

But Hagel, a Republican, calmly refused and tried to explain his thinking at the time, even as McCain repeatedly interrupted him.

"I want to know if you are right or wrong. That's a direct question. I expect a direct answer," McCain said.

Hagel replied: "I would defer to the judgment of history."

McCain responded with disgust: "History has already made a judgment on the surge sir, and you're on the wrong side of it."

McCain has seen the troop surge as allowing for a dignified exit from Iraq. Hagel, however, said it was unclear if it was worth losing some 1,200 Americans in the surge of reinforcements to Iraq.

"I'm not sure. I'm not that certain that it was required," he said.

The tense back-and-forth underscored the tensions between Hagel and his fellow Republicans over his apostasy on the Iraq war, which he initially supported before breaking ranks.

The blunt-speaking former senator from Nebraska, wounded and decorated for his combat tour in Vietnam, has said military action should be a last resort and has sometimes expressed impatience with Israel while expressing support for direct talks with Iran.

But Hagel sought to reassure lawmakers that he regretted some of his past remarks and was ready to back military action if necessary against Iran or other adversaries.

"We will not hesitate to use the full force of the United States military in defence of our security," Hagel said before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"But we must also be smart, and more importantly wise, in how we employ all of our nation's great power."

Hagel told lawmakers he endorsed the president's stance on Iran's nuclear program, with military force remaining an option if diplomacy fails.

"I am fully committed to the president's goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and -- as I've said in the past many times -- all options must be on the table to achieve that goal," he said.

Despite harsh criticism and a blitz of attack ads against Hagel, the White House is hopeful the Senate will approve his nomination in the end, albeit with little support from the Republican minority.

Another senator wounded on the Vietnam battlefield, John Kerry, has been approved as the next secretary of state, and both Hagel and Kerry reflect Obama's preference for restraint when it comes to employing US military might.

Most of the questions at the hearing focused on his record and not what he would do as defence secretary, amid looming budget cuts and a troop drawdown in Afghanistan.

Hagel has pursued a charm offensive in recent weeks, holding a flurry of meetings with senators in Congress. But the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee said he was not convinced, portraying Hagel as ready to appease Tehran.

"His record demonstrates what I view as a lack of steadfast opposition to policies that diminish US power and influence throughout the world," Senator Jim Inhofe said.

Inhofe and others also accused Hagel of being too soft on arms control, questioning his support for scaling back the country's nuclear arsenal.

But Hagel said: "We're not going to unilaterally disarm."

His nomination has sparked an unprecedented advertising campaign by conservative activists, who began airing ads not long after Obama announced his choice for the Pentagon.

Although the ad campaign likely will fail to block the nomination, the attacks serve as a warning to Hagel that he will be under tough scrutiny.

If confirmed, Hagel would be the first Vietnam veteran to serve as Pentagon chief, as well as the first to come from the military's enlisted ranks.

- AFP/jc

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Smart LED desk lamp is sensitive to your moods

It's more than just a lamp.

(Credit:
Satechi)

The day of the single-purpose gadget is rapidly fading. You can't just have a phone that you use to talk to other people. It has to do 50 other things. You can't just have a desk lamp that lights up your desk. You have to have one that charges your phone and gives you mood lighting, too.

The Satechi Smart LED Desk Lamp tries to fit as much functionality in as it can. It charges smartphones and has a built-in timer to power it off. It's also very touchy-feely. It's controlled through a touch panel and has different lighting modes to fit your mood.

The lamp can be dimmed in increments, or you can choose one of four pre-sets. Reading mode features a mid-range color temperature to be easy on your eyes. Study mode has high-range color temperature, supposedly to increase concentration. Relaxation mode brings low-range color temperature to encourage you to kick back. Bedtime mode has a soft light for people who like to sleep at their desks.

Phone charging functions aren't new to desk lamps. Konica Minolta came out with wireless charging lamp late last year. The Satechi lamp doesn't do wireless, but at $100, it's $200 cheaper than the Konica Minolta. If you're the kind of person who's not satisfied with single-function devices, then the Satechi lamp could be worth a look.

Charge your phone while relaxing with your mood lighting.

(Credit:
Satechi)

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Storm system moves into Ga., blamed for 2 deaths

Updated 6:45 p.m. ET

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. A massive storm system raked the Southeast on Wednesday, spawning tornadoes and dangerous winds that overturned cars on a Georgia interstate and demolished homes and businesses, killing at least two people.

The storm system tossed vehicles on Interstate 75 in Georgia into the air, onto their roofs and into the grassy shoulder. The highway was closed for a time, and another main thoroughfare remained closed until crews could safely remove downed trees and power lines from the road. Authorities were working to rescue people reportedly trapped in homes and buildings.

The storm decimated that city's downtown area and wiped out parts of a large manufacturing plant, killing at least one person and sending nine to hospitals, Bartow County officials said. Residents said no traces remained of some roadside produce stands — a common sight on rural Georgia's back roads.

A funnel cloud in northern Georgia on Jan. 30, 2013

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WGCL-TV

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for Bartow and Gordon counties. Georgia Power reports there are 10,200 outages statewide. Of the 10,200, 5,600 outages are in the Adairsville Area and 3,500 in metro Atlanta, reports CBS affiliate WGCL-TV in Atlanta.

One other death was reported in Tennessee after an uprooted tree fell onto a storage shed where a man had taken shelter.

In Adairsville, the strange mix of debris in one yard showed just how dangerous the storm had been: a bathtub, table, rolls of toilet paper and lumber lay in the grass next to what appears to be a roof. Sheets of metal dangled from a large tree like ornaments.

"The sky was swirling," said Theresa Chitwood, who owns the Adairsville Travel Plaza. She said she went outside to move her car because she thought it was going to hail. Instead, the passing storm decimated a building behind the travel plaza and ripped the roof off of a nearby bank.

"It sounded like a freight train coming through," she said. "It looks like a bomb hit it."

Juanita Carter told CBS News she was sleeping when the tornado hit; a dangerous situation. "I was hanging. My back was across those blocks," she said. "I don't remember nothing after that. I blacked out."

17 Photos

Massive storm system hits the South

Powerful winds ripped through the entire region, with gusts powerful enough to topple tractor-trailers in several places.

Conditions remained ripe for tornadoes into Wednesday afternoon, and authorities were still investigating several sites to determine if damage was caused by twisters. Since Tuesday, the system had caused damage across a swath from Missouri to Georgia.

In recent days, people in the South and Midwest had enjoyed unseasonably balmy temperatures in the 60s and 70s. A system pulling warm weather from the Gulf of Mexico was colliding with a cold front moving in from the west, creating volatility.

One person was reported injured by lightning in Arkansas during the storm's eastward trek. Two people suffered minor injuries when a mobile home was blown off its foundation in Kentucky. Only one minor injury was reported in Mississippi, where officials praised residents for heeding warnings and being prepared.

In Tennessee, officials confirmed that a tornado with peak wind speeds of 115 mph touched down in Mount Juliet. No serious injuries were reported there, though the path of damage was about 150 yards wide, including homes, a warehouse and an automotive business.

At a shopping center in Mount Juliet, large sheets of metal littered the parking lot, light poles were knocked down and bits of fiberglass insulation were stuck in the trees.

One wall of a Dollar General convenience store collapsed, and the roof was torn off. Mark Fulks Jr. runs Mark's Automotive with his father in a building attached to the Dollar General. The garage door was blown off his shop and sitting on one of the cars inside, and Fulks said several of the cars they were working on had their windshields blown out.

A nearby office building and a distribution center for The Tennessean newspaper also had severe damage. Rick Martin, who bags the newspapers and helps his wife deliver them, was shocked when he saw what was left of the distribution center.

The metal frame of the building still stood, but its cinderblock walls had crumbled, and papers and plastic bags littered the trees.

"We feel real lucky," he said on Wednesday morning as looked at the damage. "I would have hated to be in here when this happened."

The nation has had its longest break between tornado fatalities since detailed tornado records began being kept in 1950, according to the Storm Prediction Center and National Climatic Data Center. The last one was June 24, when a person was killed in a home in Highlands County, Fla. That was 220 days ago as of Tuesday.

The last day with multiple fatalities was June 4, when three people were killed in a mobile home in Scott County, Mo.

CBS meteorologist David Bernard reports there were tornado watches stretching from Tallahassee, Fla., through Georgia and the Carolinas Wednesday night. The Washington, D.C., area was also under a tornado watch.

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Arias Trial Shocked by Slashed Throat Photo

The courtroom at the Jodi Arias murder trial was shocked -- and Arias began sobbing -- when the prosecutor stunned them by suddenly flashing a photograph of Arias' ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander with his throat slashed open.

Alexander's sisters and friends burst into tears and one ran out of the courtroom when prosecutor Juan Martinez held up the grisly picture of Alexander with his throat slashed and bloodied.

Arias, who is on trial for allegedly murdering Alexander, sobbed uncontrollably at the sight of the photo. She is accused of stabbing Alexander 27 times, slashing his throat, and shooting him twice in the head in a bout of jealousy. She could face the death penalty if convicted.

In the moments before the incident, Martinez was questioning Lisa Daidone, who dated Alexander in 2007 after Alexander's break up with Arias but while he and Arias continued to sleep together. The defense had gone painstakingly through an angry email Daidone had sent Alexander to break up with him, after she found out he was cheating on her with Arias.

"Do you think that even with everything they claimed he put you through, do you think it is appropriate to take a knife and slash somebody's throat?" Martinez yelled.

"Is this what a normal relationship looks like to you?" Martinez shouted as he held up the picture amid shouts of "objection" from the defense and gasps from onlookers.

Judge Sherry Stephens called for a recess, and when the court returned the judge warned the audience to keep their reactions to testimony silent.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense's First Day of Witnesses Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Defense Begins Case Watch Video

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Reported Plea Deal Attempt Watch Video

The outburst came at the end of an intense line of questioning from Martinez as he asked Daidone to explain that Alexander treated her well during their relationship, attempting to disprove the defense's accusations that Alexander was a sex-obsessed, aggressive cheater.

Daidone had testified under questioning by Arias' lawyers that she broke off her relationship with Alexander several times partly out of her suspicions that he was cheating on her, although he had asked her to marry him.

As Mormons they refrained from sex before marriage and she was surprised to find out after Alexander's death that he was not a virgin. Another witness, Desiree Freeman, told the court that Alexander claimed to be a virgin. "He made jokes about it" and seemed proud of the fact, Freeman testified.

The defense cited Daidone's breakup email listing her complaints about Alexander in their effort to portray Alexander as an aggressive philanderer.

"Did you tell him that you felt he wanted you just for your body, that kissing didn't mean anything to him and was just a way for him to let out sexual tension? And that it made you feel used and dirty?" defense attorney Jennifer Willmott asked Daidone.

Daidone said yes, and that she "had felt that way then."

But the prosecutor grilled Daidone about that email, drawing a picture of a more reserved and sexually restrained Alexander.

"You were asked about that email," Martinez said, "and one of the things you talked about, isn't it true that Mr. Alexander wouldn't kiss you at the start of the relationship? You were the person who initiated contact? He was the person holding it up, right? He was holding up your religious beliefs?" Martinez asked.

Daidone agreed.

"He was doing everything he could to conform to what you wanted, wasn't he? Not other way around," Martinez said.

Daidone said that when she sent the angry email to Alexander, criticizing him for thinking about sex and talking about sex, that she was "inexperienced" and "immature," and she later came to regret saying those things to him.

Daidone said that Alexander always kept in close contact with Arias, texting and calling her often. She was suspicious that he was cheating on her, but did not know they were involved sexually.

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French troops deployed in last Mali rebel strongholds

DOUENTZA, Mali/PARIS (Reuters) - French troops seized the airport in Mali's northern town of Kidal, the last urban stronghold held by Islamist insurgents, as they moved to wrap up the first phase of a military operation to wrest northern Mali from rebel hands.

France has deployed some 4,500 troops in a three-week ground and air offensive to break the Islamist rebels' 10-month grip on major northern towns. The mission is aimed at heading off the risk of Mali being used as a springboard for jihadist attacks in the wider region or Europe.

The French military plans to gradually hand over to a larger African force, tasked with rooting out insurgents in their mountain redoubts near Algeria's border.

Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said French forces using planes and helicopters defied a sandstorm late on Tuesday to capture the airport but had been prevented by the bad weather from entering the town itself.

"The terrorist forces are pulling back to the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains which are difficult to access," Le Drian told a news conference. "There is support from Chadian and Nigerian troops coming from the south."

The deployment of French troops to remote Kidal puts them in direct contact with pro-autonomy Tuareg MNLA rebels, whose rebellion last year was hijacked by the Islamist radicals. Le Drian said France had established good relations with local Tuareg chieftains before sending in troops.

MNLA leaders say they are ready to fight al Qaeda but many Malians, including the powerful military top brass in the capital Bamako, blame them for the division of the country. They view Paris' liaisons with the Tuaregs with suspicion.

French and Malian troops retook the major Saharan trading towns of Gao and Timbuktu at the weekend.

There were fears that many thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts held in Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, might have been lost during the rebel occupation, but experts said the bulk of the texts were safe.

The United States and European governments strongly support the Mali intervention and are providing logistical and surveillance backing but do not intend to send combat troops.

The MNLA rebels, who want greater autonomy for the desert north, said they had moved fighters into Kidal after Islamists left the town earlier this week.

"For the moment, there is a coordination with the French troops," said Moussa Ag Assarid, the MNLA spokesman in Paris.

A spokesman for the Malian army said its soldiers were securing Gao and Timbuktu and were not heading to Kidal.

The MNLA took up arms against the Bamako government a year ago, seeking to carve out a new independent desert state.

After initially fighting alongside the Islamists, by June they had been forced out by their better armed and financed former allies, who include al Qaeda North Africa's wing, AQIM, a splinter wing called MUJWA and Ansar Dine, a Malian group.

RISK OF ATTACKS, KIDNAPPINGS

As the French wind up the first phase of their offensive, doubts remain about just how quickly the U.N.-backed African intervention force can be fully deployed in Mali to hunt down the retreating al Qaeda-allied insurgents. Known as AFISMA, the force is now expected to exceed 8,000 troops.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France's military operation, codenamed Serval (Wildcat), was planned as a lightning mission lasting a few weeks.

"Liberating Gao and Timbuktu very quickly was part of the plan. Now it's up to the African countries to take over," he told the Le Parisien daily. "We decided to put in the means and the necessary number of soldiers to strike hard. But the French contingent will not stay like this. We will leave very quickly."

One French soldier has been killed in the mission, and Fabius warned that things could now get more difficult, as the offensive seeks to flush out insurgents with experience of fighting in the desert from their wilderness hideouts.

"We have to be careful. We are entering a complicated phase where the risks of attacks or kidnappings are extremely high. French interests are threatened throughout the entire Sahel."

An attack on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria earlier this month by Islamist fighters opposing the French intervention in Mali led to the deaths of dozens of foreign hostages and raised fears of similar reprisal strikes across North and West Africa.

NEED FOR RECONCILIATION

The French operation has destroyed the Islamists' training camps and logistics bases but analysts say a long term solution for Mali hinges on finding a political settlement between the northern communities and the southern capital Bamako.

Interim President Dioncounda Traore said on Tuesday his government would aim to hold national elections on July 31. Paris is pushing strongly for Traore's government to hold talks with the MNLA, which has dropped its claims for independence.

"The Malian authorities must begin without delay talks with the legitimate representatives of the northern population and non-terrorist armed groups that recognize Mali's integrity," French Foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said.

After months of being kept on the political sidelines, the MNLA said they were in contact with West African mediators who are trying to forge a national settlement to reunite Mali.

"We reiterate that we are ready to talk with Bamako and to find a political solution. We want self-determination, but all that will be up to negotiations which will determine at what level both parties can go," Ag Assarid said.

There have been cases in Gao and Timbuktu and other recaptured towns of reprisal attacks and looting of shops and residences belonging to Malian Tuaregs and Arabs suspected of sympathizing with the MNLA and the Islamist rebels.

(Additional reporting John Irish and Emmanuel Jarry in Paris, David Lewis and Pascal Fletcher in Dakar; Writing by David Lewis and Daniel Flynn; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Rosalind Russell)

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