NEW ORLEANS

Judge orders Durst held without bond in Louisiana

Dan Phillips, a member of the San Antonio Living History Association, patrols the Alamo during a pre-dawn memorial ceremony to remember the 1836 Battle of the Alamo and those who fell on both sides. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas filed suit Monday against the Texas General Land Office for control of more than 30,000 books and artifacts within the historic site’s library. (The Associated Press File photo)

Millionaire murder suspect Robert Durst is a flight risk and a danger to others, a judge decided Monday after considering what FBI agents found in his hotel room – an elaborate disguise and other escape tools fit for a spy movie.

Durst was arrested at the J.W. Marriott hotel in New Orleans, where he had registered under the name Everette Ward and was lying low while HBO aired the final chapters of his life story.

FBI agents recovered his passport and birth certificate, an apparently fake Texas ID, stacks of $100 bills, bags of marijuana, a .38-caliber revolver, a map folded to show Louisiana and Cuba, and a flesh-toned latex mask with salt-and-pepper hair.

“This was not a mask for Halloween” – it was a disguise extending down to the chest, Assistant District Attorney Mark Burton said.

Magistrate Harry Cantrell ordered Durst held without bond on weapons charges in Louisiana, and set a preliminary hearing for April 2, delaying his transfer to California to face murder charges.

SANAA, Yemen

Yemen’s foreign minister appeals to Arab neighbors

Yemen’s foreign minister appealed Monday for Gulf Arab neighbors to launch military strikes against Shiite rebels threatening to overrun the last stronghold of the Western-allied government as the country sinks further toward full civil war.

Although Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf partners are fearful of spillover from Yemen’s collapse, they have given no indication of consensus on possible intervention and appear unlikely to quickly mobilize their joint military command.

The call for help reflects the increasing desperation of forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi as they try to hold off advances on Yemen’s second-largest city, Aden, by powerful insurgents known as Houthis and believed backed by Shiite power Iran.

The gains by the Houthis are part of a wider unraveling in Yemen that also includes competing battles among tribal factions, a branch of the terror organization al-Qaida and cells appearing to pledge loyalty to the Islamic State.

WASHINGTON

Pakistan adviser demands tactical nuclear weapons

Pakistan needs short-range “tactical” nuclear weapons to deter arch-rival India, a top adviser to its government said Monday, dismissing concerns it could increase the risk of a nuclear war.

Khalid Kidwai also rejected concerns over the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect what analysts have described as the world’s fastest-growing atomic arsenal.

Pakistan’s development of smaller warheads built for use on battlefields, in addition to longer-range weapons, has increased international concerns that they could get into rogue hands because of the pervasive threat of Islamic militants in the country.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas

Group files suit for control of Alamo books, artifacts

A group that’s been removed from managing the Alamo is now suing for control of some 38,000 books and artifacts at the historic site.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas filed suit Monday against the Texas General Land Office, alleging it unilaterally declared the state owner of the organization’s private library collection.

The group says it owns more than 77 percent of the collection, which includes books, maps, flags and other artifacts.

In the lawsuit, the organization accuses the General Land Office of unlawfully attempting to seize their private property.

The suit comes shortly after Land Commissioner George P. Bush ended the group’s 110-year management of the Alamo.

The Alamo was the site of a key battle in 1836 during the Texas Revolution, in which Texas gained independence from Mexico.

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