pistol the statement did not name the shooting victim but media reports have
identified him as vladimir demidov
the bullet damaged an artery and the driver died minutes later in the cabin of
his plough investigators found fragments of mirror of maurin car and
cartridge at the scene
lieutenant colonel anatoly maurin has been arrested on suspicion of killing the
driver of snow plough russia investigative committee said in statement
maurin has been charged with grievous bodily harm and causing death by
negligence he faces up to years in jail if convicted
the statement said that maurin oversaw logistics and administration for branch
of the interior ministry
the arrest is the latest in series of arrests of russian police officers for
violent crimes
moscow police colonel went on trial in december for killing two and injuring
seven in shooting spree in supermarket in april that caused widespread
outrage
in november three moscow police officers were detained for drunkenly beating
man to death while off duty
afghan market bombing kills civilians police
kandahar afghanistan jan afp
fifteen civilians were killed in bomb blast in crowded market in an
increasingly restive province in southern afghanistan on thursday police said
fifteen people all civilians have been killed and others are wounded
uruzgan province police chief juma gul hemat said after the attack in the town
of dihrawud
it was blast in crowded market but at this moment we don know if it was
suicide bombing or just bomb blast he said
police officer was also killed in separate blast in the southern province of
helmand neighbouring uruzgan officials said
russian officer held for snow plough road rage killing
moscow jan afp
russian police officer has been arrested for shooting snow plough driver and
leaving him to bleed to death in the street after dispute arising from car
accident investigators said thursday
according to investigators the lieutenant colonel anatoly maurin collided with
the snow plough in southern moscow in the early hours of december
after an argument maurin shot the year old driver in the knee with an air
pistol the statement did not name the shooting victim but media reports have
identified him as vladimir demidov
the bullet damaged an artery and the driver died minutes later in the cabin of
his plough investigators found fragments of mirror of maurin car and
cartridge at the scene
lieutenant colonel anatoly maurin has been arrested on suspicion of killing the
driver of snow plough russia investigative committee said in statement
maurin has been charged with grievous bodily harm and causing death by
negligence he faces up to years in jail if convicted
the statement said that maurin oversaw logistics and administration for branch
of the interior ministry
the arrest is the latest in series of arrests of russian police officers for
violent crimes
moscow police colonel went on trial in december for killing two and injuring
seven in shooting spree in supermarket in april that caused widespread
outrage
in november three moscow police officers were detained for drunkenly beating
man to death while off duty
us envoy says world must keep pressing korea on rights
seoul jan afp
the us special envoy on human rights in north korea urged the outside world
thursday to keep pressing the communist state to improve its widely criticised
rights record
robert king on the last full day of visit to south korea told local internet
users he saw no quick fix to what he has previously termed an appalling record
but that efforts to improve conditions should not stop
improvement in human rights conditions will not happen overnight but we need
to continue to press for better human rights conditions king said in online
chat with south koreans organised by the us embassy
but we also need to be patient
the us envoy reiterated that the communist state must improve its rights record
if it wants better relations with the united states
it one of the worst places in terms of lack of human rights the situation is
appalling he had said monday on the first full day of his fact finding visit
king said in the online chat that his country does not use human rights as
weapon against its enemies but the north would have to improve if it wants to
establish positive and productive relations with washington
the united states supports human rights of people in all countries we are not
singling out north korea and we have worked to improve human rights conditions
in many other countries he said
during his stay in seoul king talked to government officials north korean
defectors family members of abductees held in the north and non governmental
organisations he is due to leave for japan on friday
at hearing of the un human rights council in geneva last month the north
faced demands from western countries to open up to international organisations
and independent monitors
countries also raised concerns about serious human rights violations including
reports of child labour executions the detention of political prisoners and
torture
pyongyang representative rejected many of the allegations as fabricated
german airline traffic almost percent lower in official
frankfurt jan afp
the number of air passengers fell by almost five percent in germany last year
the first drop since figures published thursday by the national statistics
office showed
total of million passengers passed through airports in germany the three
biggest of which are in frankfurt munich and duesseldorf drop of percent
from the level in the destatis office said in statement
ever since terror attacks in the united states led to percent decline in
the number of airline passengers had increased steadily until global
economic crisis erupted in september
germany leading carrier lufthansa said this week that its passenger numbers
had fallen by percent last year
some travellers have turned to railways and bus lines destatis said which
carried percent more people in mainly over short distances
chinese net users mourn at google hq
beijing jan afp
scrawled messages flowers and offerings of fruit outside google beijing
headquarters mourned the passing of loved one thursday as internet users
expressed defiance against china web censorship
don know what ll do without google ve come here to pay my respects to
google said one of several paper messages placed on top of the company sign in
front of the sleek modern building in high tech park
goodbye google you can build the wall but you can separate the hearts of
the people we want to see the other side of the wall said another apparently
referring to the authorities great firewall of china
freedom wrote one supporter in english and chinese on message nestled
near bouquet of flowers bottle of chinese baijiu liquor and some apples
and oranges typical offering when loved one has died
google vowed tuesday to stop bowing to chinese internet censors and risk
banishment from the lucrative market in protest against highly sophisticated
cyberattacks aimed at chinese human rights activists
the authorities in the world most populous nation regularly block content and
websites they deem politically objectionable
china on thursday insisted the internet was open and said foreign web firms
were welcome to do business in the world third largest economy according
to law
year old employee at an internet company who only gave his surname zhang
said outside the google headquarters that the chinese authorities had gone too
far in their policing of the web
in the last few years it has become harder and harder to go around the great
firewall you have to spend more time and money he told afp
if google leaves china think that china has the capability to block all
google sites inside china they will make lot of people unhappy
zhang said the government often cited the dangers of pornography as its main
reason for policing the internet but said he believed they were really
concerned about political content
they talk about pornography but with billion people who has not seen
pornography he said
throughout the day groups of young people walked past the building in beijing
university district to read the messages with many taking pictures or
videotaping one another
not everyone at the google site was supportive
man surnamed cui worker at software company in the area said while he
used google search engine every day he did not think the company should be
able to flout china laws
every nation restricts the internet china has its laws if you want to leave
china it your own business but you have to respect the laws here he said
late in the day someone left cold war propaganda poster depicting
china support for the former soviet union it boasted bold print slogan
american invaders must be defeated
german airline traffic almost percent lower in official
frankfurt jan afp
the number of air passengers fell by almost five percent in germany last year
the first drop since figures published thursday by the national statistics
office showed
total of million passengers passed through airports in germany the three
biggest of which are in frankfurt munich and duesseldorf drop of percent
from the level in the destatis office said in statement
ever since terror attacks in the united states led to percent decline in
the number of airline passengers had increased steadily until global
economic crisis erupted in september
germany leading carrier lufthansa said this week that its passenger numbers
had fallen by percent last year
some travellers have turned to railways and bus lines destatis said which
carried percent more people in mainly over short distances
malaysian catholics lawyers offices hit in allah row
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysia catholic church said thursday its lawyers offices had been burgled
and ransacked in the latest of spate of attacks triggered by row over the
use of the word allah
police said church in southern johor state was also attacked bringing to
the number of churches that have been fire bombed or vandalised in the past
week
trouble broke out after the high court decided on december to lift
government ban on non muslims using allah as translation for god
our lawyers offices were broken into and burgled sometime between wednesday
evening and thursday morning and the office was ransacked said father lawrence
andrew editor of the catholic church newspaper the herald
we believe the break in is linked to the ongoing situation over the use of the
word allah and we are very concerned he told afp
the law firm does not have any money or many valuables so we believe this is
purely aimed at intimidation
church lawyer derek fernandez said laptop was stolen in the attack on his
firm offices in southwest kuala lumpur and he was checking whether any
documents had been taken
this was very professional job as there were very strong grilles protecting
the office that were cut and the locks were carefully replaced after the
break in he told afp
however police denied the incident was linked to the allah row
police investigations so far indicate that this is purely housebreaking and
theft case and is in no way related to the allah issue federal criminal
investigation chief bakri zinin said in statement
police said meanwhile the saint elizabeth catholic church in johor had been
splashed with paint early thursday
the church was splashed with red paint sometime early this morning deputy
national police chief ismail omar told afp we are still investigating the
matter
malaysia bar council condemned the attack on the law offices saying lawyers
must be free to represent their clients without fear or favour
criticism and dissent are legitimate forms of expression but threats
coercion intimidation or violence are unacceptable president ragunath kesavan
said
the high court ruling in favour of the herald which argued for the right to use
allah in its malay language section was suspended last week pending an
appeal after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict
since the ruling churches have been hit with molotov cocktails splashed with
paint and had windows smashed with stones triggering tighter security at places
of worship nationwide
about nine percent of malaysia million people are christian including
catholics the majority community of malays are muslim
the row is one of string of religious disputes in recent years that have
raised fears among minorities that the country is being islamised and that
their rights are being eroded
the us government commission on international religious freedom tuesday voiced
concern over the violence and said the response of malaysian leaders would be
vital in shaping the nation future
the malaysian government has strongly criticised the attacks but has been
accused of stoking malay nationalism so as to protect its voter base after the
opposition made unprecedented gains in elections
after the latest attacks prime minister najib razak said thursday that probes
were underway to bring the perpetrators to justice and said several suspects
had been identified
these actions do not represent malaysia malaysia is tolerant country that
supports religious freedom for all he said in statement
israelis furious over govt handling of row with turkey
jerusalem jan afp
the israeli media on thursday slammed the government handling of diplomatic
row with turkey in which it humiliated ankara ambassador and then retreated
with public apologies
the policy of no more groveling led by foreign minister avigdor lieberman
was transformed within matter of days into situation in which israel was
forced to dispatch an official and diplomatic apology israel maariv
newspaper said in an article entitled capitulation
the spat again turned the spotlight on the controversial minister an ultra
nationalist who has said israel should strike back at international criticism
and defend its national honour
under pressure from president shimon peres lieberman deputy danny ayalon
issued formal apology late on wednesday as turkey threatened to withdraw its
envoy
ayalon on monday had publicly dressed down turkey ambassador to israel oguz
celikkol over turkish television series depicting mossad agents as baby
snatchers
amnon abramovitch television commentator on israel channel two criticised
the infantile conduct of the government and commentator on israel military
radio referred to the humiliation after the humiliation
the centrist opposition kadima party joined in criticising the government with
senior official haim ramon saying it should also send letter of apology to
the israeli people following the humiliation we have suffered
spokesman for israel hawkish prime minister benjamin netanyahu insisted the
protest was justified but said the style and the procedure that were used were
not appropriate and apologies were due
the prime minister hopes the affair is behind us the spokesman nir hefetz
told public radio
an editorial in the left leaning haaretz meanwhile came to the defence of ayalon
and lieberman both members of the ultra nationalist israel beitenu israel our
home party for defending israel honour
the competition between ex diplomats politicians broadcasters and pundits to
be the rudest in criticising the pair brings back memories of the times when
anyone who publicly sought to restore the honour of the jewish people was
shouted down by meek and frightened establishment for fear of angering the
gentiles and bringing disaster upon the community it said
lieberman the outsider who represents national agenda is bull in the
china shop of the foreign ministry the dna of which is stamped with restraint
apologetics and lip biting
turkey has been israel main regional ally since the two signed military
cooperation pact in but relations were poisoned by ankara severe
criticism of israel gaza offensive in december and january
the series that sparked the row showed turkish secret agent storming an
israeli diplomatic mission to rescue turkish boy kidnapped by mossad agents
an episode israel slammed for portraying israel and jews as baby snatchers and
war criminals
yemen clerics urge jihad if foreign troops join qaeda chase
sanaa jan afp
yemen council of clerics called thursday for jihad if foreign troops join the
war on al qaeda in the impoverished arabian peninsula country as the government
vowed to eradicate the extremists
if any party insists on aggression or invades the country then according to
islam jihad becomes obligatory said statement signed by clerics read at
news conference
the clerics also stressed strong rejection of any foreign intervention in
yemeni affairs whether political or military
the clerics include the radical sheikh abdulmajeed al zendani who is labelled
by the us administration as global terrorist
they also rejected any security or military agreement or cooperation between
yemen and any foreign party if it violates islamic sharia law and the
setting up any military bases in yemen or in its territorial waters
on wednesday the chairman of the us senate armed services committee carl
levin urged washington to consider targeting al qaeda militants in yemen with
armed drones air strikes or covert operations but not invade the country
most options ought to be on the table short of invasion by us forces the
michigan democrat said
al qaeda franchise in yemen al qaeda in the arabian peninsula claimed
responsibility for the botched christmas day attack on us airliner and
washington has accused the group of training the alleged assailant nigerian
umar farouk abdulmutallab
zendani monday warned that any us military intervention in yemen to fight al
qaeda would be considered an occupation
the yemeni government has intensified its operations against al qaeda insisting
that it can tackle the militants on its own without the need for foreign
military intervention
yemen is not afghanistan nor pakistan where terrorists constantly launch
attacks while the authorities try to respond here we anticipate the threat
yemen is not hideout for the terrorists and will never be yemen head of
national security ali anisi said on wednesday
the country defence ministry meanwhile vowed thursday to clear yemen of
al qaeda jihadists and warned that intensive operations will continue against
osama bin laden extremists
citizens have been warned not to hide any al qaeda members and have been urged
to cooperate with the security forces against the extremists the defence
ministry sep net website quoted security source as saying
the arabian peninsula country the poorest in the region is under pressure to
rein in the extremists and the united states and britain have announced plans
to fund the country police counter terrorism unit
but us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending troops
to yemen or to somalia in the horn of africa just across the bab al mandab
strait
yemen insists it is winning the war against the jihadists pointing to two
separate air raids in december that killed more than suspected al qaeda
militants
yemeni officials on wednesday announced the death in firefight of suspected
al qaeda kingpin in the eastern province of shabwa and the arrests of four
others
week ago officials announced the capture of key al qaeda leader mohammed al
hanq and two other militants believed to be behind threats against western
interests in sanaa that caused embassies to close for several days
afp animated graphics advisory
paris jan afp
we will move the following animated graphic
haiti earthquake
interactive graphic on haiti in the aftermath of the devastating
earthquake which may have left more than dead as rescue
efforts get under way in the stricken capital port au prince
format adobe flash cs player px haitiquakeen gmt
slug haiti quake
afp animated graphics
peter shard tel
internet gives chinese platform but regime wary experts
beijing jan afp
the internet has given hundreds of millions of chinese an outlet for free
expression but beijing unrelenting surveillance only highlights state fears
about the power of the web observers say
in the nation of billion people where the flow of information has been
tightly controlled by the ruling communist party for years the internet has
emerged as primary means for people to vent social and political discontent
google this week threatened to halt its operations in china after series of
cyberattacks against the internet giant and also said it would no longer filter
its internet search results as required by the beijing government
experts say the authorities are most concerned about the so called web
social networking sites such as twitter and facebook which have been used in
other countries to fuel popular protest movements
web websites turn around the information flux that means the citizen can
get information faster than the government michael anti one of china most
well known bloggers told afp
they see web websites as real threat
china has employed virtual army of censors to patrol the internet for material
deemed unhealthy vast system known as the great firewall of china which
most often is used to weed out politically sensitive information
last year it shut down tens of thousands of websites and arrested thousands of
people in connection with what it said was an anti pornography drive
it also blocked social networking sites google video sharing site youtube
in march twitter and facebook in july after unrest in xinjiang citizens can
only gain access to such sites by using proxy servers
in far western xinjiang where nearly people were killed in the worst ethnic
violence the country has seen in decades the internet was simply shut off
service was only minimally restored in late december
this demonstrates the link the government makes between the internet and the
risk of social unrest said renaud de spens an expert on the use of new media
in china
according to recent report released by the chinese academy of social sciences
cass government think tank the subjects most discussed on the internet
last year were protection of the rights of citizens supervision of public use
of force preservation of public order and promotion of public morality
chinese researchers zhu huaxin shan xuegang and hu jiangchun who contributed
to the report wrote of the emergence of new class of people offering their
opinions
when story erupts this new class shows more and more its immense power over
public opinion the cass researchers said
china million internet users the world largest online community
have already exercised their moral authority few times to positive effect
last year young woman tried for murdering local official who she said had
tried to force himself on her walked free after web users latched onto her
story decrying what they say was corrupt and overbearing bureaucracy
they authorities can control the majority of the population the majority of
chinese netizens most people cannot use vpns or proxies to get access to free
websites anti explained
but it doesn work with opinion leaders like journalists lawyers and human
rights activists it very easy to run across the great firewall to access
information
internet analyst jeremy goldkorn points out that vast majority of web users
are not really aware of the censorship that why it works so well
in early december public security minister meng jianzhu said the internet had
become means for hostile forces to spread panic and damage the nation
adding that security forces had to police the net to preserve social stability
but beijing faces huge task according to official statistics the number of
web users grew by million in six month period last year
censorship will work on some issues but it will not hold back the wave and
internet users will test the limits said de spens
if there are too many fish they cannot all be drowned
nigerian lawyers challenge president fitness to rule
abuja jan afp
lawyers petitioned nigeria federal high court on thursday to install president
umaru yar adua deputy as acting president until the ailing leader is well
enough to return from hospital in saudi arabia
the same court ruled on wednesday that vice president goodluck jonathan could
take full executive powers pending yar adua recovery
judge dan abutu ruled that jonathan cannot become the acting president but can
only carry out the functions of the president in his absence which he has been
doing and should continue to do so
but lawyers are persisting with three separate legal challenges in the abuja
court to force the year old president to swear in johathan as acting
president until he recovers
the nigerian bar association human rights lawyer femi falana and former
lawmaker farouk adamu aliyu filed separate suits last week on the grounds that
yar adua is incapacitated
falana dismissed wednesday court ruling as meaningless because no functions
have been formally and directly delegated to jonathan by yar adua
yar adua absence since november has caused political and legal furore in
africa second biggest oil exporter
the opposition says that government business has been stalled and the nation
democracy is facing its most serious threat in the decade since the end of
military rule
world scrambles rescue teams to quake hit haiti
washington jan afp
rescuers doctors and soldiers rushed to haiti by air and sea thursday in
sweeping global response to the devastating earthquake feared to have killed
more than people
with much of the capital port au prince reduced to rubble forward teams of
civilian and military experts began landing at the still operational airport
while more headed to the impoverished nation by sea
governments and aid organizations around the world unlocked relief funds
despatched experts to claw through the debris for survivors and promised help to
reconstruct shattered homes schools and hospitals
the initial effort was focused on saving as many lives as possible after haitian
prime minister jean max bellerive said the death toll from tuesday
magnitude quake could reach well over
as wealthy neighbor with the world most powerful military the united states
was well placed to lead the effort mobilizing an array of specialists ships
planes and helicopters
the uss carl vinson aircraft carrier was set to arrive later thursday with
destroyers and more coast guard ships en route and troops on stand by
have directed my administration to respond with swift coordinated and
aggressive effort to save lives us president barack obama said
the people of haiti will have the full support of the united states in the
urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the
humanitarian relief food water and medicine that haitians will need
general douglas fraser head of us southern command said an early survey
indicated the damage was concentrated around the capital but that the number of
casualties and scale of the disaster was still unknown
former us president bill clinton now un special envoy in haiti launched
quake fund saying even dollar would help and pope benedict xvi called for
generous response
clinton called the disaster one of the great humanitarian emergencies in the
history of the americas
what haiti needs most is money for water food shelter and basic medical
supplies to bring immediate relief to those who are homeless hungry and hurt
he wrote in commentary for the washington post
the red cross launched million dollar appeal for donations the world food
programme offered tonnes of food and the world bank said it would provide
an extra million dollars in aid
we are entering critical period there must be massive humanitarian aid
arriving this evening said olivier bernard president of the medical relief
agency organisation medecins du monde
to save lives he told afp surgery must be available ideally within the
first hours
british flight carrying some officials and rescue specialists arrived in
the dominican republic en route to neighboring haiti they were accompanied by
sniffer dogs and some tonnes of equipment
international development minister douglas alexander told bbc radio the most
basic needs the need for shelter the need for water the need for medicine
and the need for food are going to emerge we sense on an immense scale in
the hours days and weeks ahead
cuba which felt the quake sent doctors to join staff already in haiti
brazil said it was providing million dollars in immediate aid while peru
venezuela mexico colombia guatamala and chile also promised help
canada readied two warships helicopters and planes with supplies as well as
large relief and rescue force
from the asia pacific region australia pledged nine million dollars while
taiwan whose ambassador to haiti was hurt south korea and new zealand also
offered aid
japan well used to quakes pledged five million dollars and offered tents and
rescuers
in tokyo the haitian embassy charge affaires jean claude bordes said port
au prince is totally destroyed
some friends told me forget it you don have country any more
the world health organization is deploying specialists to help handle mass
casualties and corpses warning of the danger of communicable diseases such as
diarrhea
the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies said it was
preparing to help up to three million people
the european commission released three million euros and nations offered their
own funds on top of that
the netherlands sent team of search and rescue personnel as well as sniffer
dogs russia sent search and rescue teams and vowed more aid including field
hospital and medical supplies
in paris president nicolas sarkozy called an emergency meeting to step up
french rescue efforts france has already flown planes of rescuers along with
sniffer dogs and tonnes of aid and equipment
aid organizations impromptu groups and individuals also used the internet and
twitter to rally donations bolstering their messages with harrowing footage
from haiti ruins
rwanda supreme court postpones nkunda hearing
kigali jan afp
