urgent dead in suicide bomb at pakistan volleyball game police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
at least people were killed and dozens more wounded friday when suicide car
bomber blew himself up as people gathered to watch volleyball game in
northwest pakistan police said
kinshasa plans new offensive against rwandan rebels
kinshasa jan afp
democratic republic of congo forces are to mount new offensive against rwandan
hutu rebels in the east of the country with the backing of un troops
congolese army officer said friday
the operation dubbed amani leo or peace now in swahili aims to complete an
operation launched in february last year which was reported to have claimed
hundreds of civilian lives major sylvain ekenge told afp
ekenge spokesman for the military in nord kivu province said the aim was to
completely eradicate the democratic forces for the liberation of rwanda fdlr
rebels in three month campaign beginning in january
he claimed that in the previous offensive government troops destroyed all fdlr
bases in nord and sud kivu killing of the rebels further
surrendered or were captured and sent back to rwanda by the un mission in dr
congo he added
ekenge said the un mission known as monuc which gave logistical support to the
congolese army last year would be fighting alongside it in the upcoming
offensive
in particular monuc would be deploying combat helicopters against the rebels he
said
monuc military spokesman lieutenant colonel jean paul dietrich refused to
comment friday on ekenge statement
on december the un security council extended monuc mandate by further
five months and tasked it with better protecting civilians as well as disarming
demobilising and reintegrating foreign and congolese armed groups and
supporting government efforts to improve security
it also urged kinshasa to effectively protect the civilian population to
develop sustainable security sector institutions which fully respect the rule of
law and to ensure respect for human rights and the fight against impunity
monuc support for government forces is strictly conditioned on their
compliance with international humanitarian human rights and refugee law and on
an effective joint planning of these operations the resolution said
according to human rights watch last year offensive against the fdlr led to
at least civilians and probably many more being murdered by both
congolese troops and rebels kinshasa has rejected the report
alan doss the un special envoy to kinshasa told the security council last
month that the objective of the kimia ii operation against the fdlr has been
largely achieved although there have been very serious humanitarian
consequences
in recent report for the security council independent experts also said the
drive by congolese rwandan and un forces to disarm the rebels failed and even
worsened the humanitarian crisis in the kivus
the fdlr has been active in eastern dr congo for years some of its older
members are accused of taking part in the genocide in neighbouring rwanda
which targeted the tutsi minority and claimed about lives
the fdlr remains potent threat and they will seek to return to their former
strongholds and punish the population for collaboration with governmental
forces doss warned
he said that under new directive government troops and monuc will now
concentrate on holding ground recovered from the fdlr and preventing attacks on
civilians in areas of vulnerability while conducting targeted strikes against
any command and control centres where the fdlr may have regrouped
doss also highlighted the importance of cracking down on illegal networks
funding the fdlr and other armed groups in eastern congo
alert
at least killed in suicide blast at pakistan volleyball match police
watchman arrested in france over stolen painting official
marseille france jan afp
french police have arrested night watchman at museum from where valuable
painting by th century artist edgar degas was stolen judicial official said
friday
police in the southern port city of marseille arrested the man on thursday the
official said adding it is an employee of the museum night watchman
the colourful image of singers performing on theatre stage was missing when
staff opened up the cantini museum in marseille on thursday
the national museums service said the picture was pastel work titled the
chorus worth euros million dollars
loaned by the orsay museum in paris for an exhibition of theatre themed artworks
including some works by degas it measures centimetres by about
inches by
prosecutor jacques dallest said on thursday that the painting had been unscrewed
from the wall there was no sign of break in and the theft may have been an
inside job
the city hall which runs the museum said people had visited the
exhibition and the show was due to close in marseille on january and later go
on tour to italy and canada
eu condemns russian arrest of elderly protester
brussels jan afp
the european parliament joined friday us government criticism of russia arrest
of an year old militant during an opposition protest in central moscow on new
year eve
eu parliament president jerzy buzek had been very shocked and disappointed
that ludmila alexeeva had to spend new year eve on thursday in police custody
his spokeswoman inga rosinska said
buzek had described the police action as totally disproportionate she said
the white house had expressed its dismay at alexeeva detention on thursday and
voiced concern about reports of her mistreatment
anti riot police arrested the octogenarian along with around other other
people in peaceful protest to call on russian authorities to respect the right
to freedom of assembly according to the agency interfax
at the time of her arrest alexeeva one of this year recipients of an european
parliament prize for freedom of thought was dressed in pink costume as the
snow maiden of russian fairy tales usually depicted as the granddaughter of the
russian father christmas
according to echo moscow radio people were involved in the protest
which had not been sanctioned by the moscow authorities
some were rounded up by police when they began shouting slogans and showing
placards which read putin behind bars reference to strongman prime
minister vladimir putin
didn have time to open my mouth just made hand signal alexeeva told
the echo moscow
have no idea why was arrested she said they offered to release me but
refused demanding that they release all those in police vans
human rights watch said the detention highlights the severe government
restrictions on peaceful protests
detained with her was the founder of the outlawed national bolshevik party
eduard limonov
limonov was among opposition dissidents arrested by police on october as
they tried to attend protest in moscow that had also not received government
permission
limonov was sentenced to days in prison for organising the rally
alexeeva was in founding member of the moscow helsinki group the oldest
human rights organisation currently active in russia and the object of
denigration campaign and arrests under the soviet regime
she was forced to leave the soviet union in and was exiled in the united
states she returned to moscow in
suicide bomb kills at pakistan volleyball game police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
suicide bomber blew himself up as people gathered on friday to watch
volleyball game in northwest pakistan killing at least people and injuring
police said
the blast struck in bannu district in north west frontier province which is
plagued by attacks and bombings by taliban rebels avenging multiple military
offensives aimed at crushing their northwestern strongholds
police said they were still investigating the exact circumstances of the attack
in shah hasan khan village about kilometres miles south of the town of
lakki marwat and near the tribal district of south waziristan
the blast took place during volleyball match and according to initial reports
it appears to be suicide attack district police chief mohammad ayub khan
told afp
habibullah khan police chief in the area said that two village teams were
playing and lot of people had gathered to watch
the death toll has risen to and more than people are wounded he said
one police official said early reports suggested man drove car packed with
explosives onto the field but mohammad ayub khan said rescue efforts and
investigations were still ongoing and it was too early to draw conclusions
he said that women and children were pulled from the rubble of nearby house
that collapsed in the blast
the police and army launched an operation against militants in bannu last year
and had claimed to have cleared it completely
now they militants have found an opportunity to carry out this attack
mohammad ayub khan said
the military are engaged in their most ambitious offensive yet against home
grown taliban militants in south waziristan tribal district they sent about
troops into the region on october
security has plummeted over the last two and half years in pakistan where
militant attacks have killed more than people since july and
washington has established the country as front line in its war on al qaeda
insurgents have responded to the offensives with wave of attacks
increasingly targeting civilians and causing massive casualties
five afghans dead in roadside bombing police
kabul jan afp
five people have been killed by roadside bomb in region of western
afghanistan under taliban control local police said friday
the incident happened in the province of badghis on thursday provincial police
chief sayed ahmad sameh said adding the dead were two women and three men
they were travelling in public mini van when the bomb exploded in the joi ganj
area sameh said
the taliban rule that area and government forces can go there because of
planted mines he said
in western farah province which like badghis is experiencing escalating
violence as taliban influence spreads to previously peaceful areas three
militants were killed by police in shootout late thursday police said
the gun battle followed an attempt by militants to kidnap truck driver and
seize his truck loaded with asphalt for road construction said ikramuddin
yawar chief of police for western afghanistan
the shootout happened between the bala buluk and dilaram districts which have
been blighted by heavy taliban presence in recent months he said
the taliban are spreading across the country western military intelligence
officials say and the effectiveness of their tactics which include suicide
attacks and remote controlled roadside bombings is growing
these attacks are claiming an increasing number of civilian victims many more
than government forces though taliban propaganda often successfully turns the
blame on international troops fighting for their eradication
civilian deaths in afghanistan rose more than percent in the first months
of un figures show
the figures put civilian deaths in the afghan war at for the first
months of up from for the same period year earlier an increase
of percent
the un calculations show the vast majority or civilians were killed by
insurgents
civilian casualties are sensitive issue in afghanistan and earlier this week
demonstrators took to the streets in three cities after ten civilians were
allegedly killed by foreign forces in eastern kunar province
the international community deploys troops to afghanistan fighting the
taliban under us and nato command another soldiers are due to arrive
over the course of this year
iraq expresses astonishment over dropping of blackwater case
baghdad jan afp
iraq expressed astonishment friday over the dropping of charges against
blackwater guards accused of killing civilians in one of the bloodiest
incidents involving private security firm here
the decision by us judge to dismiss the criminal charges also sparked outrage
among iraqis and baghdad government spokesman vowed that it would act
forcefully and decisively to prosecute the blackwater criminals
was astonished by this decision human rights minister wejdan mikhail told
afp there was so much work done to prosecute these people and to take this
case into court and don understand why the judge took this decision
us federal judge ricardo urbina on thursday dismissed the charges against the
five saying prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements
they had made under immunity during state department probe to build their
case
the case was among the most sensational that sought to hold blackwater employees
accountable for what was seen as culture of lawlessness and lack of
accountability as it carried out its duties in iraq
the guards who had been part of convoy of armoured vehicles had been charged
with killing unarmed iraqi civilians and wounding others during an
unprovoked attack at busy baghdad roundabout using guns and grenades
one of them has said what happened in nisur square how they killed innocent
iraqi people that were just in their cars without any weapons am very
astonished and am waiting for the us embassy to give me the judge decision
in full the iraqi human rights minister said
what happened was very bad because so many innocent iraqi people young
students were shot by someone who liked to shoot unarmed people
mikhail added that she had requested meeting with us embassy officials in
baghdad the embassy did not immediately confirm that the meeting would take
place or if it did who it would involve
government spokesman ali al dabbagh said iraq would act forcefully and
decisively to prosecute the blackwater criminals
he added that an iraqi investigation had shown that the five guards were
unquestionably responsible for the deaths of the civilians
according to iraq civilians were killed in the shooting but the guards were
charged with deaths
inquiries carried out by the iraqi government clearly confirm that the
blackwater guards committed crime and used weapons when there was no threat
necessitating the use of force dabbagh said
ordinary iraqis expressed anger at urbina decision to dismiss the charges
dropping the charges against those guards disrespects the lives of the
innocents who were killed said abu uday university professor who did not
want to give his given name
the rights of the families of the victims must be guaranteed those who lost
their sons because of the rashness of guards who tried to show off their
abilities with no respect for people lives
the top us commander in iraq general ray odierno said he feared backlash
against private security firms working here
we all know that it was not us soldiers sailors or marines who did this it
was private security company odierno told press conference
what worry about is there will be backlash against private security companies
that continue to operate in iraq wouldn like to see that
blackwater ended its operations in iraq in may after the us state department
refused to renew annual contracts for the company
the firm renamed itself xe after the iraqi government banned it last january
over the killings
headquartered in north carolina blackwater was one of the largest security
firms operating in iraq with about staff and had been employed to protect
us government personnel since the invasion
suicide bomb kills at pakistan volleyball game police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
twenty five people were killed and others wounded friday when suicide
bomber blew himself up as people gathered to watch volleyball game in
northwest pakistan police said
the death toll has risen to and more than people are wounded said
habibullah khan police chief in the area of bannu district where the blast
occurred
there was match between two village teams and lot of people were watching
it he told afp
iran mousavi ready to die for opposition cause
tehran jan afp
iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi said on friday that he was ready
to sacrifice his life in his campaign to have the disputed june re election of
president mahmoud ahmadinejad overturned
am not unwilling to become martyr like those who made that sacrifice after
the election for their rightful national and religious demands mousavi said in
his first statement on his kaleme org website since deadly clashes on sunday
my blood is no redder than theirs he added
mousavi nephew ali was among at least eight people who died during sunday
opposition protests during shiite muslim rituals for ashura
the opposition head website carried call from political prisoners in
tehran evin jail for the public to hold memorial on sunday to mourn those
who died during the protests
opposition website rahesabz reported new protests in central tehran on thursday
and sporadic clashes with security forces day after the regime brought
hundreds of thousands of its own supporters onto the streets of major cities in
massive show of strength
mousavi called on ahmadinejad government to halt its crackdown against his
supporters which saw hundreds of people arrested during the demonstrations
he urged the government to take responsibility for the problems it has created
in the country release political prisoners and recognise people right to
lawful assembly
the former prime minister rejected demands from hardliners for him to renounce
his accusations of fraud in the june election in which he was ahmadinejad main
challenger
clearly and explicitly say that the order to execute kill or jail former
parliament speaker and pro reform presidential candidate mehdi karroubi
mousavi and people like us will not solve anything
supposedly you calmed things down through your arrests violence threats and
closure of newspapers and other media what appreciation does that show for the
change in public opinion about the islamic republic
mousavi rejected charges by ahmadinejad and other officials that he and his
supporters were lackeys of iran western foes
we are neither americans nor britons we have sent no congratulations cards to
the leaders of major powers he said in mocking allusion to card the iranian
president sent to barack obama on his election as us president in
we are loyal to the constitution he added dismissing accusations by
hardliners that the opposition protests against ahmadinejad re election have
turned into campaign to topple the islamic regime
we want an honest and compassionate government that considers diversity of
opinion and the popular vote to be opportunities not threats
we consider invasion of people privacy interrogations ransackings
newspaper closures and restrictions on what is published to be violations of the
constitution
mousavi proposed that to resolve the crisis over the election the government
announce it will be directly accountable before the nation parliament and the
judiciary and not demand unconditional support regardless of its shortcomings or
weaknesses
the fourth candidate in the june election former revolutionary guards chief
mohsen rezai hailed mousavi comments as basis for compromise between
the opposition and regime hardliners and wrote to supreme leader ayatollah ali
khamenei asking him to intervene to broker solution
mr mir hossein retreat from rejection of mr ahmadinejad government and his
constructive proposal that parliament and the judiciary act based on their legal
duty to make the government accountable was late but can be new start to
unite the protesters with the rest the isna news agency quoted rezai as saying
in the letter
message from you or advice through speech can strengthen the new
movement which has started for unity and forgiveness rezai said
but hardline cleric ahmad khatami slammed mousavi statement as new
provocation
there is no crisis in the country and you are creating crisis stop it the
isna news agency quoted him as saying
mousavi website denied reports by state media that he had fled the capital
tehran for the northern province of mazandaran
mir hossein mousavi is at his own home in one of the side alleys of pasteur
avenue in south tehran like before and has not left tehran at all in the past
few days his kaleme org website said
iran mousavi ready to die for opposition cause
tehran jan afp
iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi said on friday that he was ready
to sacrifice his life in his campaign to have the disputed june re election of
president mahmoud ahmadinejad overturned
am not unwilling to become martyr like those who made that sacrifice after
the election for their rightful national and religious demands mousavi said in
his first statement on his kaleme org website since deadly clashes on sunday
my blood is no redder than theirs he added
mousavi nephew ali was among at least eight people who died during sunday
opposition protests during shiite muslim rituals for ashura
the opposition head website carried call from political prisoners in
tehran evin jail for the public to hold memorial on sunday to mourn those
who died during the protests
opposition website rahesabz reported new protests in central tehran on thursday
and sporadic clashes with security forces day after the regime brought
hundreds of thousands of its own supporters onto the streets of major cities in
massive show of strength
mousavi called on ahmadinejad government to halt its crackdown against his
supporters which saw hundreds of people arrested during the demonstrations
he urged the government to take responsibility for the problems it has created
in the country release political prisoners and recognise people right to
lawful assembly
the former prime minister rejected demands from hardliners for him to renounce
his accusations of fraud in the june election in which he was ahmadinejad main
challenger
clearly and explicitly say that the order to execute kill or jail former
parliament speaker and pro reform presidential candidate mehdi karroubi
mousavi and people like us will not solve anything
supposedly you calmed things down through your arrests violence threats and
closure of newspapers and other media what appreciation does that show for the
change in public opinion about the islamic republic
mousavi rejected charges by ahmadinejad and other officials that he and his
supporters were lackeys of iran western foes
we are neither americans nor britons we have sent no congratulations cards to
the leaders of major powers he said in mocking allusion to card the iranian
president sent to barack obama on his election as us president in
we are loyal to the constitution he added dismissing accusations by
hardliners that the opposition protests against ahmadinejad re election have
turned into campaign to topple the islamic regime
we want an honest and compassionate government that considers diversity of
opinion and the popular vote to be opportunities not threats
we consider invasion of people privacy interrogations ransackings
newspaper closures and restrictions on what is published to be violations of the
constitution
mousavi proposed that to resolve the crisis over the election the government
announce it will be directly accountable before the nation parliament and the
judiciary and not demand unconditional support regardless of its shortcomings or
weaknesses
the fourth candidate in the june election former revolutionary guards chief
mohsen rezai hailed mousavi comments as basis for compromise between
the opposition and regime hardliners and wrote to supreme leader ayatollah ali
khamenei asking him to intervene to broker solution
mr mir hossein retreat from rejection of mr ahmadinejad government and his
constructive proposal that parliament and the judiciary act based on their legal
duty to make the government accountable was late but can be new start to
unite the protesters with the rest the isna news agency quoted rezai as saying
in the letter
message from you or advice through speech can strengthen the new
movement which has started for unity and forgiveness rezai said
but hardline cleric ahmad khatami slammed mousavi statement as new
provocation
there is no crisis in the country and you are creating crisis stop it the
isna news agency quoted him as saying
mousavi website denied reports by state media that he had fled the capital
tehran for the northern province of mazandaran
mir hossein mousavi is at his own home in one of the side alleys of pasteur
avenue in south tehran like before and has not left tehran at all in the past
few days his kaleme org website said
urgent dead in suicide bomb at pakistan volleyball game police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
twenty five people were killed and others wounded friday when suicide
bomber blew himself up as people gathered to watch volleyball game in
northwest pakistan police said
alert
people killed in suicide blast at pakistan volleyball match police
dead in suicide blast at pakistan volleyball game police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
eleven people were killed and wounded friday when suicide bomber blew
himself up as people gathered to watch volleyball match in northwest pakistan
police said
eleven people were killed and more than injured said habibullah khan
police chief in the area of bannu district hit by the blast
there was match between two village teams and lot of people were watching
it he told afp
afp middle east news summary
nicosia dec afp
top middle east stories on friday
iran politics unrest opposition
tehran iranian opposition leader mir hossein mousavi said he was ready to
sacrifice his life in his campaign to have the disputed june re election of
president mahmoud ahmadinejad overturned
somalia unrest rebels islam yemen
mogadishu somalia hardline shebab insurgents said they will send fighters to
yemen to help an al qaeda affiliate behind the failed christmas day jetliner
bombing in its fight against government forces
yemen unrest politics
sanaa yemeni president ali abdullah saleh appealed for reason from shiite
rebels in the north separatists in the south and al qaeda militants in an
article published to mark the new year
yemen unrest south
sanaa yemeni police fired teargas to disperse demonstration by separatists
near the southern city of aden wounding four people one of the protestors
said
britain iraq hostage iran
london briton freed earlier this week after being kidnapped in iraq in
is expected to fly home on friday to be reunited with his family officials
said
iraq us justice security blackwater spokesman reax
baghdad iraq said on it regretted the decision of us judge to dismiss
criminal charges against five blackwater security guards accused of fatally
shooting people in baghdad in september
newyear israel ice offbeat
tel aviv israel an israeli illusionist gave an icy reception to the new year
emerging at midnight from hours in an tonne block of ice breaking the
record of american magician david blaine
cricket under pressure south africa set to change
cape town jan afp
south africa are set to make at least one change in their team as they go into
crucial third test against england starting on sunday
we re all under pressure admitted south african coach mickey arthur who said
tough decisions would have to be made about the composition of the side
following their crushing innings and runs defeat in the second test in
durban
we re down in the series and we ve got to take wickets and win this test
match said arthur
he said there may be one change there may be two asked whether veteran fast
bowler makhaya ntini faced the axe arthur said ntini had not been at his best
in durban but cautioned that did not necessarily mean the only black african in
the squad would be dropped
but he also said that if ntini won reprieve it would not be simply because of
his status as standard bearer for racial transformation
he an icon cricketer and you tend to give icon players longer run because
they deserve it
england meanwhile are concerned about the fitness of batsman paul collingwood
who suffered dislocated left index finger during fielding practice in durban
coach andy flower said collingwood had made good progress which included
batting in the nets on friday
was pleasantly surprised because we hadn factored in him batting today
said flower but he still doubtful he didn face the quicker bowlers and he
didn do any robust fielding practice
flower said decision would be made after collingwood was exposed to more
rigorous practice on saturday he said the final decision would be taken by team
management
he desperate to play which means we can just leave the decision up to
him
if collingwood does not play the tour selectors will have to choose between
hampshire michael carberry who was added to the squad as cover for
collingwood on wednesday or all rounder luke wright
flower said he expected the newlands test would be tough citing south africa
record of wins in their last tests at the ground including three out of
three against england
they re very good side and it is still huge challenge for us he said
they ll come hard at us but we ll come hard at them too
flower said he did not believe there was parallel between the current series
and the ashes series against australia last year when england went from win
in the second test to an innings defeat in the fourth test at headingley in
leeds
think in that test there was an anxiety to wrap up the series quickly
don feel there any anxiety from this team we have probably learnt from that
experience
teams
south africa from graeme smith captain ashwell prince hashim amla
jacques kallis ab de villiers jp duminy mark boucher wkt paul harris
morne morkel dale steyn makhaya ntini friedel de wet alviro petersen ryan
mclaren
england likely andrew strauss captain alastair cook jonathan trott kevin
pietersen paul collingwood or michael carberry or luke wright ian bell matt
prior wkt stuart broad graeme swann james anderson graham onions
umpires daryl harper aus tony hill nzl
