Kouchner sees no rise in terrorist threat in France

July 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 27 (Reuters) – French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Tuesday he saw no increased threat of terrorist action in France in the wake of the killing of a 78-year-old hostage kidnapped in Niger.

“I don’t think we have the slightest bit of evidence of an increased danger,” Kouchner told RTL radio in an interview.

The foreign minister was speaking from Mali after being sent to the Sahel region on Monday by President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss increased security measures for French nationals.

Kouchner said he had not urged French nationals to leave the Sahel but had asked that they take increased safety precautions.

Al Qaeda’s North African wing announced on Sunday it had executed Frenchman Michel Germaneau after a raid by Mauritanian and French troops last week in which six Islamists were killed. (Reporting by Vicky Buffery; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Kyrgyz govt says detains brother of ex-president

July 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 22 (Reuters) – Kyrgyz authorities said on Thursday they had detained Akhmat Bakiyev, a brother of the ousted president, on suspicion of involvement in violent clashes that killed at least 300 in the Central Asian state last month.

The interim government, which assumed power after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in an April revolt, said in a statement that Akhmat Bakiyev was detained in the southern city of Jalalabad and would be flown to the capital, Bishkek.

The interim government said he was detained at 10:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Wednesday after a special operation by its forces.

“During the first interrogation, A. Bakiyev began to confess his involvement in the recent mass disorder in the south of the republic,” the interim government said in the statement. This statement could not immediately be verified independently.

At least 300 people, and possibly hundreds more, were killed in several days of clashes last month between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in southern regions of Kyrgyzstan, a strategic Central Asian state that hosts both U.S. and Russian military air bases.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the former president, is in exile in Belarus.

Voters last month approved in a referendum a constitutional change that will make Kyrgyzstan a parliamentary democracy. Elections to parliament are scheduled for October. (Writing by Robin Paxton; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Five killed, 18 wounded in Iraq bomb attack

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 9 (Reuters) – A suicide car bomber killed five people, including three Iraqi army officers, and wounded 18 on Friday in Baghdad, police said, after a series of attacks aimed at Iraqi Shi’ite pilgrims killed dozens in recent days.

The blast took place near an Iraqi army checkpoint in the mainly-Sunni Ghazaliya district of western Baghdad, police said. Out of the 18 wounded, at least two were army personnel, police said.

Thousands of Shi’ite pilgrims have trudged resolutely through blood-spattered streets over the past few days in an annual ritual paying homage to the Shi’ite Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, despite suicide and roadside bombs that killed at least 38 and wounded hundreds. [ID:nLDE66711T]

Iraq is on high alert for insurgent attacks after a March 7 national election produced no clear winner and left the country adrift in political uncertainty.

Overall violence has dropped sharply since the height of sectarian carnage in 2006-7. But daily bombings and killings continue, suggesting insurgents are trying to exploit the vacuum as political rivals jostle for power. (Reporting by Baghdad newsroom; Editing by Rania El Gamal and Jon Boyle)

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U.N. distributes food in drought-hit Eastern Syria

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The World Food Programme has begun distributing rations to 190,000 people in Eastern Syria but another 110,000 in the drought-hit region still require emergency food aid, the U.N. body said on Sunday.

World

Droughts over the last three years and mismanagement of water resources have reduced large swathes of Eastern Syria to a wasteland, forcing up to one million people to flee to the outskirts of Damascus and other cities.

That has put further pressure on already stretched infrastructure in Syria, a major farm and commodities player in the Middle East until droughts forced the government to stop exporting wheat in 2007.

A state wheat subsidies program increased in output but tens of thousands of illegal wells dug in the past decade to irrigate the crop have all but destroyed the water table.

Eastern Syria, which comprises the provinces of Hasakah, Deir al-Zor and Raqqa, grows most of Syria’s wheat and all of the 380,000 barrels of crude oil it produces per day.

Criticism of the central government’s neglect has risen, even from the state-controlled Peasants Union.

The WFP said a lack of international funds meant it was unable to distribute the rations of rice, oil, flour, chickpeas and salt, to all those in need.

(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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UN distributes food in drought-hit Eastern Syria

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 13 (Reuters) – The World Food Programme has begun distributing rations to 190,000 people in Eastern Syria but another 110,000 in the drought-hit region still require emergency food aid, the U.N. body said on Sunday.

Droughts over the last three years and mismanagement of water resources have reduced large swathes of Eastern Syria to a wasteland, forcing up to one million people to flee to the outskirts of Damascus and other cities.

That has put further pressure on already stretched infrastructure in Syria, a major farm and commodities player in the Middle East until droughts forced the government to stop exporting wheat in 2007.

A state wheat subsidies programme increased in output but tens of thousands of illegal wells dug in the past decade to irrigate the crop have all but destroyed the water table.

Eastern Syria, which comprises the provinces of Hasakah, Deir al-Zor and Raqqa, grows most of Syria’s wheat and all of the 380,000 barrels of crude oil it produces per day.

Criticism of the central government’s neglect has risen, even from the state-controlled Peasants Union.

The WFP said a lack of international funds meant it was unable to distribute the rations of rice, oil, flour, chickpeas and salt, to all those in need. (Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Israel to set up own inquiry into Gaza ship raid

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Israel announced Sunday it would set up its own investigation into a deadly raid on a convoy of Gaza-bound aid ships, and that its panel would include two foreign observers.

World

The internal inquiry into the March 31 raid, which falls short of a U.N. proposal for an international investigation, was decided on after consultations with the United States.

The White House welcomed the move as an important step.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the government would give its final approval Monday to forming an “independent public commission” into the incident.

Israel said its commandos killed nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists when they boarded a Turkish-flagged aid vessel after they were attacked by passengers wielding metal rods and knives.

Amid an international outcry over the bloodshed, Israel has faced mounting pressure to investigate the events surrounding the flotilla raid and to ease or lift its blockade on the Hamas Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu said Sunday Israel would continue discussions with the international community to prevent weapons and military equipment from reaching Gaza and to allow in humanitarian aid, an apparent signal it was open to revising blockade procedures.

The statement said a retired Israeli Supreme Court justice, Jacob Turkel, would head a committee on which two other Israelis and the two foreign observers would sit.

“In light of the exceptional circumstances of the incident, it was decided to appoint two foreign experts who will serve as observers,” the statement said.

The statement listed David Trimble, a Northern Ireland politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Canadian jurist Ken Watkin as the international participants who will take part in the hearings and deliberations, but will not have the right to vote.

(Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Iran arrests 13 terrorist group members: report

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Iran said on Sunday it had arrested 13 members of a terrorist group that authorities in the Islamic state say carried out attacks on minority Sunnis, state television reported.

World

The armed group was linked to the Islamic state’s “foreign enemies,” state television said, using a phrase that usually refers to the United States and Israel.

“The group was directly involved in last year’s assassination of a Sunni Friday prayer leader … a Sunni member of an influential clerical body … and a Sunni religious leader,” an Intelligence Ministry statement said, television reported.

The ministry did not identify the group nor say whether those detained were Sunni rebels in southern Iran or Kurdish separatists based in mountainous areas close to the borders with Iraq and Turkey.

According to state television, Intelligence Ministry agents who detained the 13 suspects at locations around the country, also seized 10 bombs and 500 kg of explosives from the group, which had planned more attacks.

Sectarian violence is relatively rare in Iran, whose Shi’ite leaders reject allegations by Western rights groups that it discriminates against ethnic and religious minorities.

Many Sunnis live in southeastern Iran, which has seen an increase in bombings and clashes between security forces, ethnic Baluch Sunni insurgents and drug traffickers.

Iranian officials often accuse the United States and Israel of supporting terrorists. The both dismiss such allegations.

Washington and its European allies accuse Iran of trying to build a nuclear bomb under cover of a civilian programme. Iran denies any such intention.

(Reporting by Hossein Jaseb, Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Iran arrests 13 terrorist group members-state TV

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 13 (Reuters) – Iran said on Sunday it had arrested 13 members of a terrorist group that authorities in the Islamic state say carried out attacks on minority Sunnis, state television reported.

The armed group was linked to the Islamic state’s “foreign enemies”, state television said, using a phrase that usually refers to the United States and Israel.

“The group was directly involved in last year’s assassination of a Sunni Friday prayer leader … a Sunni member of an influential clerical body … and a Sunni religious leader,” an Intelligence Ministry statement said, television reported.

The ministry did not identify the group nor say whether those detained were Sunni rebels in southern Iran or Kurdish separatists based in mountainous areas close to the borders with Iraq and Turkey.

According to state television, Intelligence Ministry agents who detained the 13 suspects at locations around the country, also seized 10 bombs and 500 kg of explosives from the group, which had planned more attacks.

Sectarian violence is relatively rare in Iran, whose Shi’ite leaders reject allegations by Western rights groups that it discriminates against ethnic and religious minorities.

Many Sunnis live in southeastern Iran, which has seen an increase in bombings and clashes between security forces, ethnic Baluch Sunni insurgents and drug traffickers.

Iranian officials often accuse the United States and Israel of supporting terrorists. The both dismiss such allegations.

Washington and its European allies accuse Iran of trying to build a nuclear bomb under cover of a civilian programme. Iran denies any such intention. (Reporting by Hossein Jaseb, Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Suicide car bomb kills 4 in Iraq’s Diyala

June 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 11 (Reuters) – A suicide car bomb targeting a U.S. military patrol in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province on Friday killed at least four people and wounded 26, a police source said.

The U.S. military did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation of U.S. casualties.

The police source said four Iraqi policemen were killed when a car packed with explosives detonated alongside the U.S. vehicles and an Iraqi police patrol near a market in the town of Jalawla, 115 km (70 miles) northeast of Baghdad.

Overall violence in Iraq has dropped sharply since the height of sectarian warfare in 2006-07, but an inconclusive March parliamentary election has fuelled a spike in bloodshed over the past two months.

In Baghdad on Friday, a roadside bomb killed two civilians and wounded nine others in the southern Doura district, police said. A car bomb in the capital late on Thursday killed four people and wounded 10.

U.S. forces have pulled out of Iraqi cities and are working to formally end combat operations by Sept. 1, cutting the U.S. military force from just under 90,000 to 50,000.

But U.S. military vehicles have been targeted on several occasions in recent days, without U.S. casualties.

On Wednesday, two civilians died when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed into a U.S. army patrol near the small town of Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad. (Reporting by Muhanad Mohammed; Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Blast wounds 11 soldiers in eastern Turkey

June 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Turkey, June 11 (Reuters) – A roadside bomb attack by Kurdish separatist militants wounded 11 Turkish soldiers travelling a convoy in eastern Turkey, military officials said on Friday.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants detonated the explosives by remote control in the mountainous Tunceli province on the road south to Elazig, the offcials said. One of the wounded soldiers was in a serious condition.

Military units have launched an operation in the area to track down the rebels.

PKK fighters regularly carry out such attacks on military vehicles in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country. Clashes with the military have escalated in recent weeks with the onset of warmer weather in the mountainous region.

The PKK took up arms against the state in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in the region. More than 40,000 people have died in the conflict. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Nigeria militants say clash with army in oil delta

June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 10 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s main militant group said its fighters clashed with soldiers in the creeks of Delta state in the oil-producing Niger Delta on Thursday, the first report of such unrest in the OPEC member nation in months.

“There was a bloody confrontation at about 0030 hours… between our fighters and men of the military Joint Task Force after one of our patrols ran into two gunboats of the JTF at Ogulagha in Delta state,” the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in a statement emailed to media.

“A firefight ensued which lasted about 30 minutes,” it said.

It was not immediately possible to get comment from the military or any independent confirmation of a firefight. (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Tintin memorabilia raises $1 million in Paris auction

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – An auction of rare memorabilia of the Belgian cartoon series Tintin has raised more than 1 million euros ($1.23 million), organizers said on Monday.

Arts

The Tintin series, created by Georges Remi under the pen name Herge, has become one of the most popular comics in the world with translations in more than50 languages and 200 million copies of the 24 books sold.

There is huge appetite for collectors of anything related to the adventurous investigative reporter and his little white dog.

The Paris auction on May 29 included 230 items from about 70 collectors that even Herge’s foundation Moulinsart, a partner in the sale, never knew existed.

Total proceeds of the latest sale came to 1,072,110 euros, the organizers Piasa said in a statement.

The item which attracted the highest bid at 243,750 euros was a couple of frames from King Ottokar’s Sceptre.

In 2008, the original cover of “Tintin in America” sold for about 750,000 euros. Last year, a lot of almost 600 items, including hand-drawn original cartoon strips, raised nearly 1.2 million euros with buyers from as far away as China and Lebanon.

(Reporting by Sophie Taylor; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Gunmen attack Pakistan hospital in Lahore, kill 12

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LAHORE, Pakistan, June 1 (Reuters) – At least three gunmen attacked a hospital in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday, killing 12 people and holding several hostage, a senior doctor told Reuters.

“They barged into the hospital building and opened indiscriminate fire,” said Javed Ikram, Chief Executive of Jinnah hospital.

He said at least 12 people were killed in the firing while some had been held hostage.

Dozens of people wounded in Friday’s attacks on two mosques of a minority religious community in the city were being treated in the hospital, which is a major institution in the city. More than 80 people were killed in those attacks.

“We have surrounded the hospital and an operation is underway,” senior city government official, Sajjad Bhutta, said.

A witness told Reuters that a police commando team had stormed into the hospital.

One hospital official, who declined to be identified, said the gunmen killed one of the attackers from Friday’s assault who was being treated in the Intensive Care Unit. (Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore, and Kamran Haider and Zeeshan Haider in Islamabad; Editing by Jon Boyle and Chris Allbritton)

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Gunmen attack Pakistan hospital in Lahore, kill 8

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Pakistan, June 1 (Reuters) – At least three gunmen attacked a hospital in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday, killing eight people and holding several hostage, a senior doctor told Reuters.

“They barged into the hospital building and opened indiscriminate fire. Eight people have been killed and they have several hostages,” said Javed Ikram, Chief Executive of Jinnah hospital. (Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari and Kamran Haider; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Russia says enrichment still issue in Iran fuel swap

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he was studying an Iranian fuel swap deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey but that questions remained, including whether Iran intended to continue enriching uranium.

“One question is: will Iran itself enrich uranium? As far as I understand from officials of that state, such work will be continued. In this case, of course, those concerns that the international community had before could remain,” Medvedev said.

Iran agreed with Brazil and Turkey on Monday that it would send some of its uranium abroad, abruptly ending its refusal to countenance such a deal just as the U.N. Security Council readied tougher sanctions.

“The question arises — is the level of this swap operation sufficient? Will all members of the international community be satisfied? I don’t know,” Medvedev said. “We need to see what follows this declaration.”

Medvedev said consultations were needed with Iran and all major powers involved in the negotiations about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.

“After this, we need to decide what to do: Are those proposals sufficient or is something else needed? So I think a small pause on this problem would not do any harm,” he said.

Medvedev spoke by phone to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva late on Monday to discuss the issue, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Medvedev “positively assessed joint efforts by Brazil and Turkey to promote a political and diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear problem,” the statement said.

“Russia will use all opportunities to support a joint search for, and the development of, a constructive resolution (to the Iranian nuclear problem) that satisfies the international community,” the statement said.

(Reporting by Denis Dyomkin, writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Conor Humphries, editing by Jon Boyle)

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ICRC says all Congo hostages released safely

April 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

All eight Red Cross staff workers kidnapped in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last week have been released unharmed, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Friday.

“It was an unconditional release as we have wanted all along and we are all very relieved that they are out without any harm to them,” Inah Kaloga, communications coordinator at ICRC in the central African country.

The eight, a Swiss citizen and seven Congolese, had been held by Mai Mai armed militia in South Kivu province since last Friday.

(Reporting by Katrina Manson; Editing by Daniel Magnowski; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Turkey says no request from Kyrgyz leader for asylum

April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ANKARA, April 14 (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he had not received a request for asylum from Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, despite suggestions the ousted leader could seek refuge in Turkey.

Erdogan also told reporters that his government was ready to assist in any efforts to resolve the political crisis in Kyrgyzstan, a country with whom Turks share ethnic and linguistic ties. (Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Sudan ruling party offers opposition govt posts

April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KHARTOUM, April 14 (Reuters) – Sudan’s ruling party on Wednesday said it would invite opposition groups to join the government if it won the country’s general elections, in an apparent bid to heal a rift over accusations of vote fraud.

“If we are declared winners in the elections … we would extend the invitation to all parties, even those who have not participated in the elections, to join the government because we believe this is a critical moment in our history,” senior NCP official Ghazi Salaheddin told reporters.

Sudan is four days into presidential and legislative elections designed to usher the oil-producer to democracy more than two decades after a military-led coup.

The credibility of the poll took a hit after some leading parties decided to boycott large parts of the poll, accusing incumbent President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his northern National Congress Party (NCP) of widespread rigging. (Reporting by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Polish president poll seen on June 13 or 20-document

April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

WARSAW, April 14 (Reuters) – Poland’s presidential election will take place on either June 13 or June 20 following the death of incumbent Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash, a parliamentary document said on Wednesday.

“According to the law on choosing the president of Poland, there are now two possible dates to conduct the first round of the election, June 13 or June 20 2010,” the document said.

Acting President Bronislaw Komorowski is expected later on Wednesday to hold consultations with political parties and to name the date of the election. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Kyrgyz interim leader wants to put Bakiyev on trial

April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

BISHKEK, April 14 (Reuters) – The interim leader in Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday called for President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to stand trial for his role in the bloodshed on April 7 which saw Bakiyev flee the capital and lose power.

“He must stand trial,” said interim leader Roza Otunbayeva.

“If we get our hands on Bakiyev, then he will be put on trial, he has already had his chance to leave,” she told reporters after meeting a U.S. envoy. (Reporting by Maria Golovnina, writing by Conor Sweeney, editing by Jon Boyle)

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