Greece has pulled two ancient statues from an ongoing Olympic Games exhibition in Qatar in a dispute over nudity, a culture ministry source said on Tuesday. "The statues have already returned to Greece," a culture ministry source told AFP, adding: "Organisers in Qatar wanted to cover up the statues' members with black cloth. So they were never put on display, they went back into storage and returned on April 19." The statues -- a Classical Greek youth and a Roman-era copy of an athlete -- are both nude, the manner in which Olympic athletes competed in antiquity.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons - probably nerve gas - in their fight against rebels waging a two-year-old uprising, the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst said on Tuesday. Brigadier-General Itai Brun told a security conference photos of victims showing foam coming out of their mouths and contracted pupils were signs deadly gas had been used.

Duty Editor: Jitendra Joshi Tel: +852 2829 6211 -- TOP STORIES -- + Boston suspect writes answers to interrogators + Myanmar accused of Rohingya 'ethnic cleansing' + Syria rebel chief vows to quit over 'inaction' + Indian police attacked over rape of 5-year-old US-attacks,update-WRAP BOSTON, Massachusetts Police seek answers from the seriously wounded surviving Boston bombing suspect, amid reports he is responding in writing to questions after throat injuries left him unable to speak.

A major US arms deal with Israel sends a "very clear signal" to Tehran that military action remains an option to stop it from going nuclear, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters on Sunday. Asked if a multi-billion dollar arms package with Israel was designed to convey a message that a military strike remains an option, he said before landing in Tel Aviv: "I don't think there's any question that's another very clear signal to Iran." ddl-hmw/jjm/hc