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Petraeus probe spreads to Gen. John Allen

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The FBI sex scandal probe that led CIA Director David Petraeus to resign now includes U.S. Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

At the same time, an FBI agent investigating Petraeus' extramarital affair was banned from the probe after he allegedly sent shirtless photos of himself to Jill Kelley, a 37-year-old Tampa, Fla., woman whose close friendship with Petraeus is tied to his downfall, The Wall Street Journal reported.

FBI officials were to brief the Senate and House intelligence committees about the case Tuesday.

Concerning Allen, the FBI uncovered 20,000 to 30,000 pages of "potentially inappropriate" emails between the four-star general and Kelley, a senior defense official told The Washington Post.

Allen, in Washington preparing for the hearings, had no immediate comment. He also had no advance warning of the investigation, learning of it from Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey Monday night, a close Allen aide told NBC News.

The FBI first told the Pentagon of its investigation into Allen's communications with Kelley Sunday, Panetta said in a statement on a flight from Honolulu to Perth, Australia, early Tuesday.

Although Allen will remain commander in Afghanistan, Panetta said President Obama agreed to a request to put on hold Allen's nomination to be commander of U.S. forces in Europe and the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, the Times said.

Syria: No power in world can topple Assad

DAMASCUS, Syria, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Syria's information minister said Tuesday there is no power in the entire world that can defeat his country or topple President Bashar Assad.

Omran Zoubi said all efforts to replace Assad are futile and opposition abroad is in "a state of turmoil," CNN reported.

Zoubi's statements come after the Syrian opposition formally agreed in Qatar to form a new umbrella organization, the National Coalition Forces of the Syrian Revolution, that could provide the basis for a provisional government.

Coalition spokesman Mohammed Dugham said they want Assad gone and will not talk with his government.

The coalition would be allowed to take Syria's seat at the Arab League, which expelled Assad's representative, The New York Times reported.

Tuesday's fighting in suburban Damascus was particularly brutal with at least 30 people killed, the opposition said.

Government troops bombed a rebel-held Syrian village near Turkey for a second day prompting Turkish Prime Minister Recept Erdogan to warn that Ankara would not hesitate to respond if necessary, Turkey's Today's Zaman reported.

Shelve BioWatch upgrade, scientist urges

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- An upgrade of BioWatch, the system for detecting a biological attack, should be canceled, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary was advised.

Scientists familiar with the situation said Tara O'Toole, the department's undersecretary for science and technology, told Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano the Generation 3 version of BioWatch could be relied on to detect deadly pathogens in the event of an attack, but was concerned that the $3.1 billion upgrade would funnel money away from measures she thought were more beneficial, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Her position is, 'Kill it,'" a federal scientist with knowledge of O'Toole's discussions about Generation 3 told the Times.

Napolitano was considering whether to approve plans for the five-year Generation 3 contract. Some officials within Homeland Security want the upgrade to proceed, but Napolitano hasn't indicated how she will decide, the Times said.

The chairmen of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its investigative panel have asked Homeland Security for emails or minutes of meetings in which O'Toole expressed her views on BioWatch. The department, citing its need to keep internal discussions confidential, has denied the investigators access to the documents, federal officials told the Times.

Arafat's body being exhumed in death probe

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The exhumation of Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat's body in the investigation of his 2004 death was under way, West Bank officials said.

A tarp surrounded the Ramallah mausoleum where Arafat was buried and workers began removing the tombstone early Tuesday, CNN reported.

French authorities initiated an inquiry into the PLO leader's death this year after high levels of a radioactive material were found on some of his personal belongings.

Arafat's widow, Suha Arafat, lodged a formal legal complaint for murder. She told CNN she wanted her husband's body exhumed so investigators could be "100 percent sure" the radioactive substance was present.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas approved the exhumation of Arafat's body from the mausoleum, which is in the Palestinian presidential compound.

Arafat was 75 when he died in a Paris military hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage and slipping into a coma.

Belize seeks antivirus creator in murder

AMBERGRIS CAYE, Belize, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- John McAfee, who gave his name to a well-known antivirus software, is being sought by police in Belize in the death of a neighbor.

Police want to question McAfee about Gregory Paull, who was found lying in a pool of blood at his home, CNN reported Monday.

Paull, a 52-year-old U.S. citizen, was found dead by a housekeeper during the weekend at his home on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye. Police said he had been shot in the back of the head.

Reports differ on when the body was found. Raphael Martinez, a national police spokesman, said Paull, who lived alone, was found Saturday morning. A police website said Paull was found about 8 a.m. Sunday and had last been seen alive about 10 p.m. Saturday.

The whereabouts of McAfee, who left his firm in 1994, are unknown.

He told the website for Wired magazine he had been hiding from Belizean authorities for several months and knew "nothing" about Paull's death "other than I heard he had been shot."