Ticker
French cement factory in Syria 'used by western spies'
By EUobserver
A French cement plant in Syria accused of financing terrorism was used by western intelligence agencies to gather information on hostages held by Islamic State, sources connected to the operation have said. A Jordanian intelligence officer who was central to the spying effort has confirmed the story to the Guardian. The Lafarge cement company is under investigation for having paid €13m to IS in order to keep functioning.