tv umpire aleem dar pak
match referee roshan mahanama sri
urgent dead in suicide bomb at pakistan volleyball game police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
eleven people were killed and others wounded friday when suicide bomber
blew himself up as people gathered to watch volleyball match in northwest
pakistan police said
alert
killed in suicide blast at pakistan volleyball game police chief
drop in iraq attacks levels off tactics shifting ngo
baghdad jan afp
violence dropped dramatically in iraq in but improvements in security
appear to have levelled off and insurgents have shifted tactics to larger scale
bombings monitoring group said on friday
the toll published by iraq body count which tracks the number of civilians
killed as result of violence is markedly higher than that of the iraqi
government however it notes that the number of people killed in was the
lowest annual total since the us led invasion to oust saddam hussein in
overall civilians were killed as result of violence until december
less than half of total of according to the british based group
the government toll according to an afp tally of official monthly figures put
deaths at only civilians killed in the first months of the year less
than half the in all of
this year has seen number of significant improvements in levels of armed and
non state terrorist violence in iraq the non governmental organisation said
however even taking into account worsening conditions elsewhere in the world
such violence still afflicts iraq population more than any other
and the second half of saw around the same number of civilian deaths as the
first which ibc said may indicate that the situation is no longer improving
prime minister nuri al maliki has promoted himself as having improved security
across iraq and is aiming to retain his post in parliamentary elections due on
march
but national security advisor safa hussein warned in an interview with afp
earlier this week that al qaeda is threat in the run up to the vote
their intention continues in this direction he said when asked if he expected
further waves of massive coordinated bombings think during the election
period it will continue this way
ibc added that large scale bombings have increased in their severity of
impact noting that people were killed in eight major attacks last year
baghdad in particular was struck by three major coordinated vehicle bombings in
august october and december that killed around people attacks blamed on
al qaeda working with diehard elements of saddam baath party
the ibc report also said the restive northern city of mosul has become more
violent than the capital on per capita basis with recorded civilian
deaths in out of an estimated population of million people
baghdad which has population of around million people saw deaths
the group added that mosul experienced nearly twice as many violent incidents as
baghdad
according to ibc an emerging trend in terms of types of violence in was
the increasingly prevalent use of magnetic sticky bombs secretly affixed to
cars the number of people killed as result of such attacks rose to in
from in
four hurt as yemen police fire teargas on demo activist
sanaa jan afp
yemeni police fired teargas to disperse demonstration by separatists near the
southern city of aden on friday wounding four people one of the protestors told
afp
one of those wounded had his leg amputated the activist who declined to be
named told afp adding that the protest took place in the western salaheddin
suburb
several hundred people took part in the protest after the main weekly muslim
prayers and demonstrators were calling for the release of south yemeni
separatist activists arrested by the authorities in recent rallies
separatists want to end the union between north and south yemen which was
proclaimed in and reinforced in civil war
separatist sentiment has grown in recent years with southerners complaining of
discrimination and underinvestment by the sanaa government
several protests in recent months have sparked bloody clashes with the security
forces during which an unknown number of people have been rounded up
kazakhstan takes helm of osce amid concern over rights
vienna jan afp
kazakhstan took over the leadership of the organization for security and
cooperation in europe osce friday for the next year amid concern over its
human rights record
it is the first former soviet state to chair the nation trans atlantic
security body after making promises of democratic reforms
we have concerns about the situation of human rights media and other areas
throughout the region including kazakhstan janez lenarcic director of the
osce office for democratic institutions and human rights said last month
while conceding that no state is without problems lenarcic said at meeting
of ministers in athens on december clearly there is challenge for the
incoming chairmanship whether they will be able to lead by example
in statement issued in astana friday kazakhstan foreign minister kanat
saudabayev pledged to uphold the fundamental principles and values of the
organization to proceed according to the interests of all participating states
and to strengthen the role of the osce as significant platform for dialogue
contributing to security in the wider eurasian space
saudabayev will outline astana priorities in speech on january to the
osce permanent council in vienna and plans to host summit of the
organisation during the year
kazakhstan which takes over the reins from greece has been attacked in recent
months for jailing yevgeny zhovtis prominent rights activist to four years
in prison over his role in fatal car accident and for raids on well known
independent newspaper
in november human rights watch called on osce members to put more pressure on
the country to do more to protect the freedom of the press and improve human
rights
kazakhstan ranked out countries on media watchdog reporters without
borders annual worldwide press freedom index in
last month also saw the murder of kyrgyz opposition journalist in the kazakh
financial capital of almaty gennady pavlyuk was apparently thrown from the
sixth floor window of an apartment with his hands and feet bound with duct tape
on wednesday kazakhstan angrily denied that it planned to sell purified uranium
ore to iran calling media reports to this effect groundless insinuations
the reports prompted warning from the united states that such transfer was
prohibited under un sanctions on iran
allianz predicts good year for germany in
berlin jan afp
germany insurance giant allianz foresees massive recovery for the country
economy this year with growth exceeding official forecasts and unemployment
rising only marginally report said friday
the daily bild quoted the group chief economist michael heise as saying that
growth would reach percent comfortably above the german central bank
prediction of percent and the strongest since
heise said the good performance would be spurred by boom in exports stable
domestic consumption government recovery programmes and tax cuts recently
agreed by the ruling centre right coalition
he also forecast that would not see the widely feared mass lay offs in
industry and unemployment would stay well below the symbolic four million
level
while many analysts have said this mark would be topped with the bundesbank
predicting million jobless by heise said they would not exceed
million some more than at present
if as is probable the economy continues on the same path as in the past few
months it will have got over its crisis by the end of which is faster
than thought he said
jealous ex lover spree fires finland gun debate
helsinki jan afp
finland was in mourning friday after jealous ex lover shot dead his former
girlfriend and four of her work colleagues in the latest armed rampage which has
reignited debate on the country gun controls
ibrahim shkupolli ended his killing spree on thursday by turning his weapon on
himself bringing the overall toll from the tragedy in the normally sleepy
helsinki suburb of espoo to six
as relatives tried to come to terms with their loss investigators indicated
they believed shkupolli may have selected his targets after suspecting his
former girlfriend of being romantically involved with workmate
we are sure that relationship issues such as jealousy or some other such
relationship problems which go back several years are behind what has happened
tero haapala chief investigator of finland national bureau of investigation
told afp
that is definitely the main reason for the murder of the girlfriend but we
still don know for sure why he shot the other four
however in separate comments to finnish media haapala said that shkupolli
appeared to have deliberately sought out his victims in the mall all of whom
worked at the same supermarket where the former girlfriend worked
the injuries of the victims indicate that the shooter wanted to shoot just
them there were no bullets shot in the direction of bystanders he said in
comments to the online edition of the helsingin sanomat newspaper
newspapers asked pointed questions about how easily the shooter had been able to
get his hands on weapon even though alarm bells had already been well and
truly sounded
as well as run ins with the law over illegal firearms he was also the subject
of restraining order issued by court over harassment of his ex girlfriend
police acknowledged that lessons had to be learned but nevertheless defended
their performance when asked if they could have done more to prevent the
shootings
finland one of western europe most sparsely populated countries with long
tradition of hunting has one of the largest per capita gun ownerships in the
world
but debate about the level of gun ownership has become hot political topic in
the wake of two shootings at schools in and which left total of
pupils and staff dead as well as the two shooters
new firearms law intended to tighten up licensing requirements is due to be
put before parliament in the spring
investigators said that the gun used by shkupolli was not licenced
the year old was fined by the helsinki district court in for firearm
violation for illegal possession of mm handgun and ammunition
the espoo district court had also fined shkupolli for illegal possession of
calibre handgun and ammunition in
prime minister matti vanhanen acknowledged the shooting raised new questions
about firearms laws
the incident draws attention to the large amount of handguns in our country
vanhanen said in statement
broad based cooperation within our society is necessary to avoid such tragedies
in the future
having expressed his condolences to the victims families vanhanen said that
the background of the events will be examined especially the background and
origin of the unlicensed gun
witnesses said the shooting sparked panic among the around new year eve
shoppers in the mall in mid morning with many charging headlong for the exit
armed police and medics who rushed to the scene found the bodies of three men
and woman at the prisma supermarket and then later found the ex girlfriend
body at her home
after an extensive search of the mall proved fruitless officers issued
photograph of shkupolli and called on the public to help find him his body was
found several hours later
suicide bomb kills three at pakistan volleyball game police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
suicide bomber blew himself up as people gathered on friday to watch
volleyball match in northwest pakistani town killing three people and
injuring officials said
the blast struck in baunu district in the north west frontier province which is
plagued by attacks and bombings by taliban rebels avenging multiple military
offensives aimed at crushing their strongholds
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 three people were killed
police spokesman shahid hameed confirmed it was suicide attack while another
police official said early reports suggested man drove car packed with
explosives onto the field as people gathered to watch the match
officers said they were still investigating the exact circumstances of the
attack in shah hasan khan village about kilometres miles south of the
large town of lakki marwat and near the tribal district of south waziristan
khan said that some children and women were pulled out of the rubble after the
blast caused nearby house to collapse
doctor usman ali at lakki marwat government hospital confirmed that three
bodies and injured people had been brought there after 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 the militants have
found an opportunity to carry out this attack khan said
the military are now engaged in their most ambitious military offensive yet
against home grown taliban militants in south waziristan tribal district they
sent about troops into the region on october
odierno fears for security firms after blackwater case fails
baghdad jan afp
the top us commander in iraq said on friday that he feared backlash against
private security firms working here after us judge dismissed criminal charges
against five blackwater security guards
speaking to reporters at camp victory on baghdad outskirts general ray
odierno said iraqis would be unhappy with the decision because they are likely
to feel that the group escaped justice
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
us federal judge ricardo urbina on thursday dismissed the charges against the
five who were accused of fatally shooting people in baghdad in september
he said prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements they
had made under immunity during state department probe to build their case
odierno said that iraqis were likely to be upset over the decision noting
that they would regard the five as effectively having escaped justice on
technicality
of course people are not going to like it because they believe that these
individuals should be punished odierno said
worry about it because clearly there were innocent people killed during this
attack and that concerning to anyone that innocent people were killed he
added
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
the men had faced firearms charges and up to years in jail on each of
manslaughter counts
us prosecutors had alleged that the guards specifically intended to kill or
seriously injure iraqi civilians and according to court documents alleged
that one of the guards told another that he wanted to kill iraqis as payback
for bragging about the number of iraqis he had shot
the five defendants were security guards employed by blackwater worldwide which
has since been renamed as xe corporation
attorneys for the guards have said they did not fire their weapons with criminal
intent but thought they were under attack
pope urges respect for humans and nature in new year mass
vatican city jan afp
pope benedict xvi called for respect and tolerance in his traditional new year
day mass friday stressing the values were necessary to ensure world peace and
ecological responsibility
respect others regardless of their skin colour nationality language
religion benedict said even very young it is important to be taught to
respect others even when they are different to us he emphasised
in his homily before the vatican diplomatic corps the pontiff noted that it was
increasingly common for schools to have children from different nationalities in
the classroom
their faces represent the prophecy of humanity that we are invited to develop
family of families and peoples benedict said adding that the other is
brother within humanity not rival nor an enemy
benedict spoke against war and violence deploring that too often the faces of
children were sunken by hunger and illness disfigured by pain and
hopelessness
before these defenceless human beings all the false justifications for war and
violence fall down
benedict appealed for all weapons to be laid down for more dignified world
in his first angelus blessing of the year the german pope appealed to the
consciences of those who are involved with armed groups of all kinds
reflect he said and abandon the path of violence
at new year mass the pope also stressed ecological awareness reiterating his
message made public in december and to be read in every parish from friday
entitled if you want to cultivate peace preserve what has already been
created
the pontiff advocated human ecology saying there is close link between
respect for mankind and respect for nature
if humanity shames itself it damages its environment benedict said
he appealed for investment in education with the objective not only to transmit
technical and scientific concepts but also broader and deeper ecological
responsibility based on respect for humanity human rights and fundamental
duties
benedict revisited the subject during the angelus blessing calling for change
in mentalities towards the environment at the level of each individual
families and local communities
iraq rights minister astonished by blackwater decision
baghdad jan afp
iraq human rights minister told afp on friday she was astonished by us
judge decision to dismiss criminal charges against five blackwater security
guards accused of fatally shooting people in baghdad in september
was astonished by this decision wejdan mikhail said 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 nusoor 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 she 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
al qaeda threat looms into new decade warns british pm
london dec afp
the failed detroit plane bombing showed that terrorism remains very real
global threat as the world enters new decade eight years after british
prime minister gordon brown warned friday
world leaders needed to cooperate urgently to tighten security at airports and
on aircraft following the december attack in which year old nigerian
nearly downed us jet as it prepared to land he said
brown added that britain had ordered review of airport security arrangements
and promised action as quickly as possible this could include the use of full
body scanners at airports
the new decade is starting as the last began with al qaeda creating
climate of fear he wrote saying the failed bombing had exposed an evolving
terrorist threat and highlighted major new base for terrorism
the failed attack in detroit on christmas day reminds us of deeper reality
that almost years after september th international terrorism is still
very real threat he added
the detroit attack which has led to major review of security procedures and
the coordination of airline and other watch lists had thrown the spotlight onto
the threat posed by militants based in yemen he said
umar farouk abdulmutallab is believed to have been trained in yemen before
embarking on the failed bombing with explosives concealed in his underwear
which remained undetected as he passed through nigerian and dutch airports
enemies of democracy and freedom now trying to mastermind death and
destruction from yemen as well as other better known homes of international
terror such as pakistan and afghanistan are concealing explosives in ways
which are more difficult to detect said brown
al qaeda and their associates continue in their ambition to indoctrinate
thousands of young people around the world with deadly desire to kill and
maim he wrote in an article on his downing street office website
and he said our response in security intelligence policing and military
action is not just an act of choice but an act of necessity
brown said britain has one of the toughest borders in the world and had
screened million passengers in and out of the country against watchlists
including the detroit attempted bomber who was refused visa in may
but in light of the detroit incident we all urgently need to work together on
how we might further tighten these arrangements he said
that is why on monday ordered immediate reviews into existing measures
including for transit passengers and asked for ways we can urgently tighten
procedures
will be receiving the preliminary findings in the next few days and we will
act on them as quickly as possible
he added potential measures to be deployed could include explosive trace
technology full body scanners and advanced ray technology
he stressed that britain cannot rely only on fortress britain strategy but
must take the fight to where extremists are based in afghanistan pakistan and
all around the world
the detroit plot thankfully failed but it has been another wake up call for
the ongoing battles we must wage not just for security against terror but for
the hearts and minds of generation
turkey wants the remains of old st nick
ankara jan afp
turkey will ask for the return of the bones of saint nicholas who father
christmas is modelled on from their display in italy local media reported on
friday
saint nicholas from the modern day town of demre on southern turkey
mediterranean coast is according to tradition the ancestor of father
christmas but his remains were stolen by italian pirates in the th century
these bones should be exposed here and not in town of pirates in bari said
culture minister ertugrul gunay quoted in the newspaper milliyet
if we build museum in this town demre naturally the first thing we will
ask for are the remains of father christmas
the minister gave no schedule for the museum construction which would exhibit
relics of ancient civilisations but said that after study by experts turkey
would request that italy return the remains of saint nicholas
many tourists especially from russia visit the saint nicholas church in
today demre fifth century byzantine basilica rebuilt in the th century
nicholas was bishop in ancient myra demre in the fourth century during the
byzantine period
he was buried in myra but pirates stole his remains in the th century and
brought them to bari in southern italy placing them in its own saint nicholas
basilica
saint nicholas is celebrated for his charity and his generosity towards others
is at the origin of the character of father christmas who took nicholas place
in christianity as the giver of presents to children
ba emb mjs
iraq rights minister astonished by blackwater decision
baghdad jan afp
iraq human rights minister told afp on friday she was astonished by us
judge decision to dismiss criminal charges against five blackwater security
guards accused of fatally shooting people in baghdad in september
was astonished by this decision wejdan mikhail said 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
urgent iraq rights minister astonished by blackwater decision
baghdad jan afp
iraq human rights minister told afp on friday she was astonished by us
judge decision to dismiss criminal charges against five blackwater security
guards accused of fatally shooting people in baghdad in september
alert
iraq human rights minister astonished by blackwater decision
suicide blast kills at pakistan volleyball match police
peshawar pakistan jan afp
suspected suicide blast on friday killed three people and injured others at
volleyball match in small northwestern pakistani town police said
the blast struck in banu district in the north west frontier province which is
plagued by attacks and bombings by taliban rebels
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 three people were killed and others were injured
police spokesman shahid hameed confirmed it was suicide attack while another
police official said early reports suggested man drove car packed with
explosives onto the field as people gathered to watch the match
irish freeze up causes travel disruption
dublin jan afp
freezing temperatures and snow in parts of ireland on friday caused severe
disruption to air road and rail transport the emergency services said
dublin airport was closed for period following heavy snow and many flights
were delayed or cancelled
severe weather conditions have disrupted the flight schedule the dublin
airport authority said adding this had caused the cancellation and diversion
of number of flights
in dublin the city state bus company said that due to extreme weather
conditions no services were operating
there was also disruption of provincial bus and rail services as result of the
sub zero temperatures
irish police and the automobile association advised motorists not to take
unnecessary journeys in of the country counties as result of
extremely poor driving conditions
the country meteorological services said there was widespread ice on untreated
roads and they forecast that snow showers on the east coast would die out later
though there would be further snow in the north and northwest
it expects more snow in the north and west on friday night and severe frost
with temperatures down as low as degrees celsius
saturday will be another bitterly cold day with frost ice and fog persisting
and more snow the freeze up is expected to continue into next week
afghan authorities distance themselves from cia black ops
kabul dec afp
afghan authorities were distancing themselves friday from investigations into
suicide bomb attack that killed seven cia agents the us spy agency biggest
single loss of life in almost years
as questions swirled about how the attacker managed to penetrate security at the
base in khost province near the pakistani border the afghan defence ministry
again denied reports that any ministry personnel were involved
the government had no comment and spokesman for president hamid karzai said
there would be no official involvement in any investigation
the cia agents were killed on wednesday when suicide bomber breached the
forward operating base fob camp chapman and detonated an explosives filled
vest in basement gymnasium
the taliban claimed responsibility for the attack
zahir azimi defence ministry spokesman again denied reports that the bomber
was an afghan army officer or posed as one
this is the taliban talking and nothing the taliban says should be believed
he said
the cia uses fobs to collect intelligence and conduct direct drone attacks along
the border between pakistan and afghanistan said western diplomat who
referred to the activities as cia black ops
it should come as no surprise that the afghan government wants nothing to do
with this he said on condition of anonymity
karzai is not interested in the security of these places he has zero control
over the fobs that are located along the border as far as the afghan state is
concerned it black hole and whatever happens is the cia lookout
western military official who also asked not to be named said the cia is on
its own in conducting operations on the us fobs dotted around afghanistan
there not great deal of visibility for what they do except at the state
department the official said
cia operations were part of the overall plan for eradicating the taliban and
developing the country he said but were not part of nato international
security assistance force isaf or us military operations
the new york times said cia officers at the base recently had begun an
aggressive campaign against militant group run by sirajuddin haqqani
citing current and former intelligence officials it said early indications were
that the bomber was brought onto the base as possible informer and might not
have been subjected to rigorous screening
afghan political analyst waheed mujda said it was the focus on the haqqani
network which is close to al qaeda and the taliban that prompted the attack
the cia wanted information on the haqqani group so they sent very clear
message very successful planned attack aimed at destroying the nucleus of
the cia operations and the perpetrator was haqqani operative he said
the cia lowered the flag to half mast at its tightly guarded headquarters in the
washington suburbs but did not release the names of the casualties who died
cloaked in the same anonymity in which they lived
your triumphs and even your names may be unknown to your fellow americans but
your service is deeply appreciated president barack obama wrote in letter to
cia employees
obama said that since the september attacks on the united states the
cia has been tested as never before
the attack comes as the united states increasingly relies on the cia and other
covert forces to pursue strategic goals
intelligence operatives are seen as crucial in laying out the groundwork as
obama and nato allies send in another troops as part of surge expected
to last until late
suspected taliban meanwhile have kidnapped two french journalists working for
