control part of the mountainous land but both claim the region in full
wednesday attack was the fourth suicide bombing in pakistani kashmir since
june on december bomber killed seven people outside mosque in
muzaffarabad and analysts warn that the taliban are extending their reach
militants have killed more than people across pakistan since july
until recently concentrating attacks in the northwest
the elected leader of pakistani kashmir raja farooq haider condemned the
attack in tarar khal and blamed taliban linked extremists
foreign hand is involved in all these incidents these people are not coming
across the line of control but from our western borders he said
islamists say their campaign which has become deadlier over the last year is
to avenge military offensives and pakistan unpopular alliance with the united
states in the war against the taliban in neighbouring afghanistan
critical of us pressure to do more to eliminate taliban and al qaeda linked
militants along its border with afghanistan the pakistani military still eyes
india as the primary threat to the country
suspected islamist militants opened fire in the main market area of indian
kashmir summer capital srinagar killing police officer there were no early
indications that the attack was linked to the suicide bombing
india accuses pakistan of arming and funding militants waging the insurgency in
kashmir although islamabad denies all charges
bbc probe casts doubt on lockerbie evidence
london jan afp
bbc investigation has cast doubt on key evidence in the case against the
libyan convicted of blowing up us jet over the scottish town of lockerbie in
the broadcaster said wednesday
tiny fragment of the timer allegedly used to blow up pan am flight
crucial in linking abdelbaset ali mohmet al megrahi to the bomb was not
properly tested and was also unlikely to have survived the explosion it said
megrahi was jailed in for the attack which left people dead but was
controversially released from his scottish prison in august because he was
suffering from terminal cancer and only had months to live
investigators believe the plane bomb was contained in toshiba radio cassette
player inside brown suitcase with various items of clothing and was triggered
by digital timer that was later linked to libya
but according to the bbc newsnight programme the fragment of the timer
found embedded in charred piece of clothing three weeks after the bombing
was never tested to confirm if it had actually been in blast
the bbc also quoted an explosives expert john wyatt who recreated the suitcase
bomb times and found that each time the timer and its circuit board were
completely destroyed casting serious doubt on the fragment found
do find it quite it extraordinary and think highly improbable and most
unlikely that you would find fragment like that it is unbelievable wyatt
the un explosives consultant for europe told the programme
it is not the first time doubts have been raised about the timer fragment in
british lawmaker suggested it could have been planted by the cia
review by the scottish criminal case review commission also cast doubt on
evidence linking megrahi to the clothes in the suitcase and concluded in
that miscarriage of justice may have occurred
megrahi who has always protested his innocence subsequently launched second
appeal but dropped this in anticipation of his release
the devolved scottish government decision to release him caused diplomatic
row with the united states home to many of the victims and the british
government in london
urgent boeing wins uae deal for six military aircraft
washington jan afp
us aerospace giant boeing said wednesday it has won contract from the united
arab emirates for six military aircraft making the uae the second middle
east nation to order the airlifter
football asian cup qualifier china syria
beijing jan afp
result of asian cup qualifier played in zhejiang on wednesday
group
china syria
france le pen calls for referendum on immigration
nanterre france jan afp
french far right leader jean marie le pen on wednesday called for nationwide
referendum on curbing immigration to address an issue he described as france
number one problem
le pen told journalists that the referendum should be held some time this year
and drew parallel with the shock vote on banning minarets that was approved in
switzerland last month
massive immigration is causing burden on france lifestyle its finances
its security its unemployment and schools said the year old leader of the
far right national front party
le pen said the debate over immigration must be settled through referendum to
allow the french to say publicly at the polls what they have been whispering
among themselves and what the national front is saying out loud
the national front has long standing opposition to immigration which it
blames for high unemployment and perceived erosion of france traditions and
lifestyle
the party far right voters massively supported president nicolas sarkozy
during the election after he called for tighter immigration controls
le pen who has several past convictions for racism and anti semitism
reiterated that immigration was france main problem and said the referendum
outcome should be binding on the government
after poor showing in recent elections and string of financial problems the
national front has been waging an energetic campaign with the hope of making
comeback in march regional elections
french fears about immigration and the growing muslim minority have come to the
fore during debate on national identity launched by sarkozy government in
november
le pen argued that there were ethnic criteria for being french
am not afraid of using that word which has become taboo under pressure from
political correctness he said during news conference held at the party
headquarters in nanterre west of paris
le pen who shocked europe in by coming in second in the french
presidential election has left much of the party day to day affairs to his
daughter marine
he was re elected to the european parliament in june
cricket strauss cook survive initial onslaught
cape town jan afp
andrew strauss and alastair cook survived some hostile bowling from south
africa new ball bowlers on the fourth day of the third test at newlands on
wednesday as england set out on the long quest to preserve their lead in the
series
set to win or to bat out potential overs england were for no
wicket at tea
morne morkel and dale steyn both bowled well at the start of the final innings
but strauss and cook batted resolutely
steyn induced an edge from strauss in the second over but it fell short of
graeme smith at first slip six overs later he had two close leg before wicket
appeals turned down by umpire tony hill and south africa decided not to seek
reviews strauss responded in steyn next over with three off side boundaries
off successive balls
south africa added runs for the loss of five wickets in overs on
wednesday before smith declared
smith took his overnight score of to as he and kallis batted comfortably
against the second new ball which was taken at the start of play
smith showed attacking intent as he added runs off balls but was caught on
the fine leg boundary when he top edged hook against graham onions he made
his off balls with fours
having successfully asked for review of leg before wicket decision when he
was on smith might have survived again had umpire tony hill spotted that
onions over stepped the bowling crease or smith asked for another review
england have only bowled two no balls in the first three matches of the series
kallis followed up his first innings century by making before he edged an
attempted square cut against james anderson and was caught behind
england went on the defensive in the second hour slowing down their over rate
and setting run saving fields only ten overs were bowled after the mid morning
drinks with anderson and stuart broad both taking six minutes or more to bowl
an over
south africa went for their shots after lunch when runs were added in
overs with all three batsmen who were dismissed falling in chase for quick
runs including jp duminy who made breezy off balls
anderson took three for and graeme swann three for
nordic skiing northug wins tour de ski fourth stage
toblach italy jan afp
norway petter northug won the fourth stage of the tour de ski nordic skiing
event here on wednesday
the world cup leader won sprint to the line after the km pursuit between
the resorts of cortina and toblach in the dolomites to finish ahead of swiss
dario cologna and swede marcus hellner after min sec
northug won the prologue and the first stage in the event which counts towards
the world cup but failed to qualify for the final of the third stage
swede emil joensson the tour de ski leader did not compete in this event
preferring to return home to prepare for the winter olympics in february
the tour de ski continues thursday with km classic here
gaza gunfire kills egypt policeman egypt state tv
cairo egypt jan afp
gunfire from the gaza strip killed an egyptian border guard on wednesday
egyptian state television said
egyptian policeman dead after palestinian fire in border zone read the ticker
on the television
the year old officer succumbed to his wounds in hospital in the divided
border town of rafah security official said
football asian cup qualifier indonesia oman
jakarta jan afp
result of asian cup qualifier played here on wednesday
group
indonesia solossa oman bashir sulaiman
alert
boeing to sell six military planes to uae statement
football asian cup qualifier singapore iran
singapore jan afp
result of asian cup qualifier played here on wednesday
group
singapore alam shah iran aghli pen madanchi rezaei
urgent gaza gunfire kills egypt policeman egypt state tv
cairo jan afp
gunfire from the gaza strip killed an egyptian border guard on wednesday
egyptian state television said
urgent gaza gunfire kills egypt policeman egypt state tv
cairo jan afp
gunfire from the gaza strip killed an egyptian border guard on wednesday
egyptian state television said
two obama allies to retire from senate
washington jan afp
two leading democrats in the us senate are announcing they will not seek re
election in november dealing double blow to efforts by president barack
obama allies to retain their critical vote majority
hours after senator byron dorgan announced tuesday he was retiring at the end of
the year us media citing democratic sources reported that senator chris dodd
would announce that he too would be stepping aside
it is grim political news for obama whose democrats when joined by two
independents currently hold exactly the seats in the seat senate needed
to overrun republican procedural roadblocks
over this holiday season have come to the conclusion with the support of my
family that will not be seeking another term dorgan said citing desire
to pursue other priorities after years in public life
dorgan denied his decision was tied to glum political prospects saying he would
have won reelection if he had run but republicans pounced on his retirement as
symptom of democratic pessimism about the coming election
for nearly year congressional democrats have been turning deaf ear to the
concerns of the american people and as the elections of approach many of
these same democrats are deciding to simply leave office instead of risking
certain defeat said michael steele republican national committee chairman
dodd will make his announcement at press conference in his home state of
connecticut according to the washington post which reported the story late
tuesday
the loss of dorgan from the relatively conservative state of north dakota was
seen as major blow for obama democrats while dodd had been considered one
of the seats most vulnerable to poaching by republican party eager to whittle
away at the majority
the question will be can democrats recruit serious and viable candidates in
both of those states harold ford jr chairman of the democratic leadership
council told msnbc on wednesday
meanwhile the new york times reported that ford former congressman from
tennessee is weighing bid to unseat new york senator kirsten gillibrand in
this fall democratic primary
since losing the tennessee senate race to republican bob corker he has
moved to new york where he works as an executive at merrill lynch and is said to
be raising funds for possible political run
dodd saw his political stock fall beginning in late with his failed bid for
the democratic presidential nomination which garnered meager public support
problems mounted when reports emerged later that year accused him of improperly
receiving discounts from troubled lender countrywide financial
as chairman of the powerful senate banking committee dodd elected to the
senate in had been deeply involved in the bitter debate about overhauling
the us health care system as well as the economic stimulus package adopted in
early
dodd had been facing what by all accounts was to be tough re election fight
against wealthy businesswoman linda mcmahon
republicans will have to defend six open seats in november while several obama
allies face tough campaigns as well
democratic senators appointed to fill vacancies in illinois and delaware
seats held by obama and vice president joe biden respectively have said they
will leave office when their terms expire in january
but dorgan is the first elected democratic senator to do so dodd would be the
second
senator dorgan should be very proud of his more than years of devoted
service in the united states congress obama said in statement tuesday
describing him as trusted leader for the people of his state
dorgan decision came after public opinion poll found him trailing north
dakota republican governor john hoeven who has yet to enter the race by
double digits
among the other white house allies in trouble democratic senate majority leader
harry reid and senator blanche lincoln of arkansas
mid term us elections typically see the party that holds the white house lose
congressional seats and republicans hope rising anti incumbent tide fed by
double digit unemployment will further boost their fortunes
iran consul in oslo resigns over tehran crackdown report
oslo jan afp
iran consul general in oslo has quit in protest against tehran violent
repression of opposition demonstrators norwegian public television nrk said
wednesday but the embassy denied the report
it was the iranian authorities treatment of demonstrators around christmas
which made me realise that my conscience would not allow me to continue in my
job mohammed reza heydari said in comments published on nrk website
according to the broadcaster heydari had been posted in oslo for three years
the iranian embassy denied the report insisting that the consul term had
simply come to an end about month ago
his mission has been over for month and his successor has arrived two weeks
ago we reject the news an embassy spokesman told afp
heydari who is still in oslo on holiday according to the consulate was
not immediately available for comment
contacted by afp his son said he was not aware of the development
on december eight people were killed after clashes erupted between security
forces and opposition supporters staging protests during the shiite mourning
period of ashura
cricket south africa england scoreboard
cape town jan afp
scores at tea on the fourth day of the third test between south africa and
england at newlands on wednesday
south africa first innings
england first innings
south africa second innings overnight
prince lbw swann
smith collingwood onions
amla cook swann
kallis prior anderson
de villiers broad anderson
duminy prior anderson
boucher bell swann
steyn not out
extras lb nb pen
total wkts dec overs mins
fall of wickets prince amla smith kallis
de villiers boucher duminy
did not bat morkel harris de wet
bowling anderson onions nb swann broad
pietersen trott
england second innings
strauss not out
cook not out
extras lb
total wkts overs
to bat trott pietersen collingwood bell prior broad
swann anderson onions
bowling morkel steyn de wet harris
match position england need another to win with wickets remaining in the
second innings
toss england
umpires daryl harper aus tony hill nzl
tv umpire aleem dar pak
match referee roshan mahanama sri
alert
gaza gunfire kills egypt policeman egypt state tv
british pm faces call for vote on his leadership
london jan afp
two former ministers called wednesday for ballot on whether british prime
minister gordon brown should stay leader of his labour party highlighting his
vulnerability months before general election
brown has faced repeated rumours of threat to his leadership since taking over
from tony blair in but has held on and has to fight general election
before june this year
his ruling labour party is around ten points behind the main opposition
conservatives led by david cameron in opinion polls
geoff hoon defence secretary when britain joined the invasion of iraq in
and former health secretary patricia hewitt wrote to all labour lawmakers urging
them to support ballot on brown leadership
many colleagues have expressed their frustration at the way in which this
question is affecting our political performance they said in the letter
published by london evening standard newspaper and widely reported by media
we have therefore come to the conclusion that the only way to resolve this
issue would be to allow every member to express their view in secret ballot
hoon and hewitt are seen as allies of former prime minister tony blair and it is
thought unlikely that they will receive enough support to topple brown
but the timing of their letter is awkward british political parties
effectively started election campaigning this week after the christmas break and
their call will prove embarrassing for brown
britain general election has not yet been called by brown but it is expected
to be called for may
tennis atp chennai open results
chennai india jan afp
results from the third day of the dollar atp chennai open tennis
tournament here on wednesday denotes seeding
nd rd
thiemo de bakker ned bt robin haase ned
santiago giraldo col bt jan jek cze
palestinians hurl stones at egyptian soldiers at border
rafah gaza strip jan afp
two palestinians were shot and wounded by egyptian soldiers targeted by youths
who hurled stones at them from across the gaza border medics and witnesses
said
another two were wounded when hamas security officials used batons and teargas
and fired shots in the air to disperse some palestinians who had been
throwing stones over the border fence at rafah
the incidents took place following demonstration called by the hamas rulers of
gaza to protest egypt construction of an underground barrier meant to stop
smuggling through cross border tunnels
hundreds of demonstrators held up green hamas flags and chanted god is great
israel and egypt have imposed blockade on the impoverished territory since the
islamist hamas took power there in hundreds of tunnels have since been
used to smuggle consumer goods and weapons into the besieged territory
us missiles kill at pakistan militant fort officials
miranshah pakistan jan afp
us missiles flattened fort used as taliban training centre in pakistan
tribal belt on wednesday killing militants the latest in recent spike of
drone attacks officials said
drone fired two missiles into the mud brick fort in sanzali village about
kilometres miles west of miranshah the main town in north waziristan in
the fourth suspected us missile attack in the tribal district in week
just over an hour later suspected drone slammed another missile into group
of militants sifting through the wreckage searching for survivors and picking
out the dead bodies pakistani security officials said
two foreigners died in the initial attack senior security official in the
northwestern city of peshawar told afp their nationalities were not clear
arab uzbek and afghan militants are present in the area
five militants were killed in the previous attack and six in this attack the
official added speaking on condition of anonymity
the area is stronghold of hafiz gul bahadur who fought with the taliban when
us led troops invaded afghanistan and is reputed to control up to fighters
whom he sends across the border but who do not attack in pakistan
the united states does not confirm drone attacks but its military is the only
force that deploys combat drones in the region
it was huge fort like mud house they were using it as training centre and
the training centre belonged to hafiz gul bahadur pakistani intelligence
official told afp again on condition of anonymity
another pakistani security official put the overall death toll at
suspected us drones have increasingly targeted north waziristan bastion of
al qaeda fighters the taliban and the haqqani network that attacks the
us and nato troops fighting in neighbouring afghanistan
washington has put pakistan at the heart of new strategy for turning around
the eight year war against the taliban in afghanistan hinging success on
dismantling militant sanctuaries along the porous border
washington is increasing pressure on pakistan to tackle militants who use its
soil to launch attacks in afghanistan and american officials have said that the
highly secretive drone programme has eliminated some top fighters
but the attacks on pakistani territory fuel anti american sentiment in the
nuclear armed muslim nation and the government publicly condemns the strikes
analysts say however that the strikes have islamabad tacit approval
at least us drone missile strikes have killed more than people in
pakistan since august
north waziristan neighbours south waziristan where pakistan has been focusing
its most ambitious military offensive yet against homegrown taliban militants
it sent about troops into the region on october
slovaks apologise to ireland for botched air security test
bratislava jan afp
slovak police apologised wednesday for botched security test which led to
explosives they planted in the luggage of an unsuspecting air traveller to be
smuggled into ireland
it was the mistake of single policeman who forgot to remove the explosives
after dog found them during security test at poprad airport on saturday
border police chief tibor mako told journalists referring to city in
northeastern slovakia
the explosives were attached by accident to the backpack of year old
slovak electrician who unknowingly brought them to his flat in dublin mako
said
we are very sorry that good effort to test the security of civilian air
transport turned out so badly he added
sections of inner city dublin were sealed off tuesday morning and homes and
businesses evacuated as anti terrorist police and irish army bomb disposal
experts raided the man apartment
quantity of explosives thought to be grammes of research development
explosive rdx was seized in the raid which irish authorities said was
launched after the slovak side contacted police at dublin airport
the explosives unwitting smuggler who has worked in ireland for three years
and was returning from christmas holiday in slovakia was arrested under
anti terrorist laws tuesday and released without charge later that day
mako claimed the slovaks were not entirely to blame however
people in charge of security at dublin airport are partly responsible for the
incident as well as they failed to discover the explosives during the luggage
check he said
slovak interior minister robert kalinak on tuesday apologised to the irish
justice minister dermot ahern for the failed test interior ministry spokesman
erik tomas told afp
airports across the world have stepped up security checks and drills after
nigerian man allegedly tried to set off bomb on plane arriving at the us
airport of detroit on december
mother of jordan bomber says he was no extremist
amman jan afp
the mother of man named as an al qaeda double agent who blew himself up at
cia base in afghanistan said on wednesday her son was not an extremist while
officials insisted that he was useful intelligence agent
balawi mother said she has not heard from him in months and has no idea if
he is dead or alive insisting that he was never an extremist
we hear the news about my son humam khalil mohammed al balawi but don know
if he is dead or not shanara fadel al balawi told afp by telephone
interview from her amman home
he prayed and read the koran but was never an extremist he never shared
extremist views
jihadist websites have identified balawi as double agent who duped western
intelligence services for months before turning on his handlers
the jordanian intelligence services believing balawi to be on their side took
him to eastern afghanistan with the mission of finding al qaeda number two
ayman al zawahiri jihadist websites and western intelligence agents cited by us
media said
but instead he blew himself up at forward operating base chapman in khost
province near the pakistani border killing seven cia agents and his jordanian
handler top intelligence officer and member of the royal family
even so senior official told afp on wednesday that jordan has benefited
since year ago from anti terrorist information provided by humam khalil al
balawi and shared them with other intelligence services as part of the fight
against terrorism
we coordinated with the united states about information relating to
afghanistan where the united states is present jordan and the united states
lured balawai into continuing to provide anti terror information
the official reiterated that there was no proof that balawi was as has been
claimed the suicide bomber who killed eight people in afghanistan
he did not say whether he was still alive
we will not wait for terrorism to come and knock on our doors our policy is to
go ahead and pursue terrorism even outside our borders he said
the palestinian family of balawi moved to jordan following the iraq invasion
of kuwait in
my son was conscientious he was good student at jordanian public school
his mother said
humam was born in kuwait along with all our other children six boys and three
girls he was born on december and has twin brother who lives in
canada
she added that balawi had travelled to turkey to study medicine and had married
turkish woman who worked as journalist
the couple have two children laila and lina
on his return to jordan he worked in hospital in palestinian refugee camp
near zarqa where his family lived before moving to nuzha neighbourhood in east
amman several years ago
in jordan humam wife translated books from arabic into turkish on the
internet balawi said
she added that her son had been interrogated last year in jordan but the
authorities did not hold him responsible for anything
jordanian officials have confirmed that
he applied last year for an american visa to study in the united states and
even paid fees she said without being able to confirm if her son had been
granted the visa
he told us he was going to turkey to get his original diploma in late
february but we realised he never went then to turkey she said
his wife was in turkey but she did not know anything about him she searched
everywhere and asked the jordanian embassy in ankara to help her we have not
heard his voice since then
jordanian official told afp on tuesday that balawi had gone to pakistan to
continue medical studies that he had begun in turkey
as mother want to know what happened if he is alive and in good health
balawi said
my son is not like how he was described in the media he is man who did his
work conscientiously and was not extremist at all
asked about blog on which her son allegedly advocated extremist views the
mother said do not know what blog is an old woman know my son he
was not like that
formula one fia stand firm on briatore lifetime ban
paris jan afp
formula one governing body the fia insisted wednesday that the lifetime
suspension from motor sport imposed on former renault boss flavio briatore still
applies despite it being overturned by paris court
the high court in paris on tuesday ruled the sanction illegal citing
irregularities in the fia decision in september to ban briatore for
allegedly ordering nelson piquet junior to crash at the singapore grand
prix
former renault technical director pat symonds who had been handed five year
ban also had his suspension overturned
but the fia said in statement the court decision was not enforceable until
