Satellite map of the Chapman base in Khost province, Afghanistan The Chapman airfield is reportedly used for launching drone planes Eight Americans

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani police will ask a court to charge five Americans detained in the country this month with planning terrorist attacks and jail them for life, a police official said on Thursday.

The young Americans, from Virginia, are accused of contacting militants groups over the Internet in a bid to wage holy war. Pakistani officials have said the Taliban had planned to use them to carry out attacks inside U.S. ally Pakistan.

"A joint investigation team has concluded its probe and we'll present them before a court on January 4 to seek life imprisonment sentences under anti-terrorist laws," said Usman Anwar, police chief in Sargodha, where the men were arrested.

"We'll prove in the court that their aim was just to spread terrorism under the garb of jihad and for that, they were in touch with Taliban and other Arab militants in tribal areas."

Pakistan's Pashtun tribal lands bordering Afghanistan are known sanctuaries for al Qaeda and Taliban militants who fled the U.S.-led assault on Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks on United States.

Washington is pushing Pakistan to root out militants who cross the border to attack U.S.- and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.

Emails showed that the Americans had plans to travel to a Pakistani nuclear power plant, according to police.

The case has illustrated how easy it is for anyone to pursue dreams of joining militant jihad through cyber channels, a worrying reality for Pakistan, already struggling on the ground to contain a Taliban insurgency.

The men -- two are of Pakistani ancestry, one of Egyptian, one of Yemeni and one of Eritrean -- were arrested in Sargodha, home to one of Pakistan's biggest airbases, 190 km (120 miles) southeast of Pakistani capital Islamabad.

Some analysts say the case of the Americans reflects a new strategy by militants to try to avoid tighter security measures by forming networks on the Internet.

They were found with maps and had intended to travel through northwest Pakistan to an al Qaeda and Taliban militant stronghold, officials said.

(Editing by Michael Georgy for Reuters)

CIA workers killed by 'Afghan soldier'

The Chapman airfield is reportedly used for launching drone planes Eight Americans working for the CIA have died in a bomb attack in Afghanistan, the worst against US intelligence officials since 1983. A bomber wearing an explosive vest entered Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost Province, near Pakistan. A Taliban spokesman said a member of the group working for the Afghan army had carried out the attack. It has raised questions about the coalition's ability to protect itself against infiltrators, analysts say. The bombing was one of at least three deadly incidents across Afghanistan on Thursday. Elsewhere: Taliban militants beheaded six men they suspected of being spies for the government in the southern province of Uruzgan, police said Four Canadian soldiers and a journalist died in a roadside bomb attack in Kandahar, in the most deadly attack on Canadians in the country for more than two years Two French journalists were kidnapped in Kapisa province, north-east of Kabul, along with their Afghan driver and interpreter, reports say Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told the BBC the Khost bomber was wearing an army uniform when he managed to breach security at the base, detonating his explosives belt in the gym. ANALYSIS Peter Greste, Kabul This is not the first time an Afghan security official has turned on coalition forces. Last March, an Afghan soldier shot dead two US troops, wounded a third and then turned the gun on himself. And in November, a policeman killed five British soldiers in Helmand. Those breaches of security will raise new questions about the capacity of the Afghan authorities to screen recruits as they struggle to increase numbers and take over the war from coalition forces. At the same time, the coalition is dramatically ramping up numbers of both military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan, in line with President Obama's surge. This latest attack exposes the risks inherent in both elements of that strategy. Unnamed US officials were quoted as saying that most if not all of the dead Americans were either CIA agents or contractors, although this has not been officially confirmed by either the CIA or the Pentagon. A further six Americans are reported to have been wounded. The death-toll was the worst suffered by the CIA since eight officers were killed in a 1983 attack on the US embassy in Beirut. Reports say the Chapman base is used by provincial reconstruction teams - which include soldiers and civilians - and is protected by some 200 Afghan soldiers. The base has been described as "not regular" - a phrase that implies it was a centre of CIA operations in Khost province, the BBC's Peter Greste in Kabul says. It is the biggest single reported loss of life for the CIA since the war began in Afghanistan eight years ago, and the biggest loss for the US since October. "We mourn the loss of life in this attack, and are withholding further details pending notification of next of kin," US state department spokesman Ian Kelly said. A spokesman for Isaf, the international Nato force in Afghanistan, said that "no US and no Isaf military personnel were killed or injured" in the incident. Khost province - which is one of the Taliban's strongholds - has been targeted by militants in the past year. The number of foreign civilians deployed in Afghanistan has been rising as international efforts there focus increasingly on development and aid. Civilians work alongside military reconstruction teams at provincial bases around the country. A "civilian surge" was one of the three core elements of the new US strategy for Afghanistan announced by US President Barack Obama at the beginning of the month. This has been the deadliest year for foreign troops since the 2001 invasion. FOB Chapman operates from Khost Airfield 32km from Pakistan border Former Soviet base is reportedly used for launching US drones Airfield extended to allow C-130 transporter planes to land Named after Nathan Chapman, first US soldier killed in Afghanistan in 2002 Enlarge Image

Choice between 'dictatorship and democracy'

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the 26 January polls are "very crucial" for Sri Lanka's future journey

The Sri Lanka president says that the voting public will have to choose between the dictatorship and the democracy at the forthcoming elections.

Addressing a gathering at the president's house in Anuradhapura, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the 26 January polls are "very crucial" for Sri Lanka.

"This is an election in which it will be decided whether we will protect democracy or pave the way for a dictatorship," he said.

'Answerable to the public'

Without directly mentioning his main rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka, the president said those joined hand against him are not answerable to any political party or a group.

I am answerable to the voting public though a political party and alliance. Not only the voting public, I am answerable to everybody in Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa

"This is very serious," President Rajapaksa said.

"I am answerable to the voting public though a political party and alliance. Not only the voting public, I am answerable to everybody in Sri Lanka."

President Rajapaksa called a snap election in an attempt to get a mandate for a second term.

His former military commander, Gen Fonseka, is the main opposition candidate who is entering politics as a novice.

Both are trying to exploit the military victory over Tamil Tigers.

20 other candidates are also contesting to become the next head of state of Sri Lanka.

Source : BBC

Rohingya to be sent back to Myanmar

About 28,000 Rohingya refugees are living in camps in southeastern Bangladesh [Reuters] Myanmar has agreed to take back some 9,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees currently living in camps in Bangladesh, the Bangladeshi foreign minister has said. Mohamed Mijarul Quayes said after meeting his Myanmar counterpart that the two sides had agreed to begin returning the Rohingya to Myanmar as soon as possible. Human rights groups have said the Rohingya face religious persecution and abuses from Myanmar's military government which does not recognise the group as an ethnic minority. Many have complained they face beatings and arbitrary arrests, as well as restrictions on movement, education and employment. Thousands of Rohingya began fleeing Myanmar in the late 1970s and Bangladesh says there are currently about 28,000 living in camps in the southeast of the country. Another 300,000 are thought to be living illegally outside the camps. Early this year hundreds of Rohingya migrants washed up on the shores of Thai and Indonesian islands, having fled Myanmar in crowded fishing boats. Many complained that they had been beaten and robbed by Myanmar soldiers, and then faced further abuse from Thai authorities who pushed them back out to sea with their boats' engines disabled.

Source: Agencies

Obama blames "systemic failures" in U.S. security

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KANEOHE, Hawaii (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday blamed a combination of "human and systemic failures" for allowing the botched Christmas Day attack aboard a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner, in his first big test on homeland security.

U.S. | World

Interrupting a vacation in Hawaii for the second straight day to reassure Americans that he will keep the United States safe, Obama listed several safeguards that failed to prevent a 23-year-old Islamic militant from Nigeria from smuggling explosives onto a plane to the United States.

"When our government has information on a known extremist and that information is not shared and acted upon as it should have been so that this extremist boards a plane with dangerous explosives that could cost nearly 300 lives, a systemic failure has occurred. And I consider that totally unacceptable," Obama said at a Marine Corps base near his vacation home.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect who claims to have been trained by al Qaeda in Yemen, is accused of trying to ignite explosives sewn inside his underwear on Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam as it approached Detroit. He was subdued by passengers and crew.

Republicans have criticized what they see as the Obama administration's failures in preventing such an attack as well as the president's decision to remain silent in the days after Friday's incident.

A senior administration official told reporters in Hawaii there was some link between al Qaeda and the attempted attack, according to new information that prompted Tuesday's presidential statement.

"There were bits of information available within the intelligence community that could have and should have been pieced together," Obama said.

"What is apparent was that there was a mix of human and systemic failures that contributed to this potential catastrophic breach of security," he added.

Obama said he has asked to hear preliminary findings by Thursday on reviews he ordered after the incident on the way the United States places people on a "terrorist watch list" and on U.S. air travel screening procedures.

SUSPECT'S FATHER

Abdulmutallab's father had warned U.S. officials weeks ago that his son had adopted extremist views.

CNN reported that the father, a prominent Nigerian banker, met in Nigeria with a CIA official. But the network, citing an unidentified source, said that official's report on the meeting was not disseminated by CIA headquarters in the United States.

"It's been widely reported that the father of the suspect in the Christmas incident warned U.S. officials in Africa about his son's extremist views," Obama said. "It now appears that weeks ago this information was passed to a component of our intelligence community but was not effectively distributed so as to get the suspect's name on a no-fly list."

A CIA spokesman said the agency learned of Abdulmutallab in November, when his father came to the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria and sought help in finding him. The CIA said it worked with the embassy to add him and his possible Yemeni contacts to the U.S. terrorism database and forwarded biographical information about him to the National Counterterrorism Center.

The CIA defended its handling of the information, saying the center was set up "to connect the dots on terrorism."

The failed attack, the most serious such incident in the United States since he took office in January, has put Obama on the defensive over domestic security. It has forced communication missteps by his administration, and drawn attention away from his top legislative priority, healthcare reform.

By going before the television cameras twice in two days, he sought to counter any impression that his vacation took precedence over national security.

The admission of failures in this incident also recalls a pledge to do things differently than his predecessor, Republican George W. Bush, whom Democrat Obama criticized during last year's presidential campaign for being slow in owning up to mistakes and, in the case of Hurricane Katrina, in recognizing the scale of the challenge.

"We need to learn from this episode and act quickly to fix the flaws in our system because our security is at stake and lives are at stake," Obama said.

Technology may be part of the solution.

Abdulmutallab smuggled the explosives in his underpants through checkpoints in Lagos and Amsterdam and hyper-sensitive body scanners might have prevented this from happening. But the machines are expensive and also intrusive, exposing an image of the naked body on a security viewing screen.

Beefed up airport security affected the stock markets on Tuesday, with the shares of Air Canada and WestJet Airlines Ltd, Canada's two biggest airlines, declining after they warned U.S.-bound travelers to expect more flight delays and cancellations.

A wing of al Qaeda based in Yemen said it was behind the failed bombing to avenge U.S. attacks on the group, according to a web statement.

The Yemeni government, which is fighting Shi'ite rebels in the north and faces separatist sentiment in the south, said the country could be home to up to 300 al Qaeda militants, some of whom may be planning attacks on the West.

U.S. and Yemeni officials are looking at fresh targets in case Obama orders a retaliatory strike in Yemen, CNN reported, citing two unidentified American officials.

Yemen has been a long-standing base of support for al Qaeda. Militants bombed the Navy warship USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in 2000, killing 17 U.S. sailors, and Yemenis were one of the largest groups to train in al Qaeda's camps in Afghanistan before September 11, 2001 attacks.

(Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja, Patricia Zengerle and Ross Colvin in Washington)

(Writing by Alister Bull, editing by Chris Wilson, Will Dunham and Robin Pomeroy) For Reuters

U.S. missile shield holding up nuclear deal: Putin

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday U.S. plans for a missile defense system were the main obstacle to reaching a new deal on reducing Cold War arsenals of nuclear weapons.

World | Russia

The two largest nuclear powers say they are close to agreeing on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), although U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have yet to clinch a deal.

Asked by a reporter what the biggest problem was in the talks, Putin said: "What is the problem? The problem is that our American partners are building an anti-missile shield and we are not building one."

Speaking to reporters in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, Putin said the U.S. plans would fundamentally disrupt the Cold War balance of power and Russia would thus be forced to develop new offensive weapons.

The comments, from Russia's most powerful politician, showed the seriousness of the problems hampering talks on a replacement for START I and illustrated the deep unease still felt in Moscow over Washington's missile defense plans.

In September, Obama said the United States would scrap parts of George W. Bush's missile defense plans, a step seen as an attempt to allay Kremlin fears that the system was a direct threat to Russia.

Cutting the thousands of nuclear weapons accumulated during the Cold War is the centerpiece of Obama's efforts to "reset" relations with Russia, which the United States is pressing to offer more help on Afghanistan and Iran.

OFFENSIVE WEAPONS SYSTEMS

Russia's leaders have remained wary about Obama's revised missile defense plans, which are based on sea- and land-based missile interceptors in Europe.

"If we are not developing an anti-missile shield, then there is a danger that our partners, by creating such 'an umbrella', will feel completely secure and thus can allow themselves to do what they want, disrupting the balance, and aggressiveness will rise immediately," Putin said.

"In order to preserve balance ... we need to develop offensive weapons systems," Putin said, echoing a pledge by Medvedev last week to develop a new generation of strategic nuclear weapons.

Putin said Moscow wanted more information about the U.S. plans in exchange for details about Russia's deployed nuclear offensive missiles.

"The problems of anti-missile defense and offensive weapons are very tightly linked to each other," he said, adding that talks on a new treaty were moving in a generally positive direction.

Russia and the United States failed to agree on a successor to START I by December 5, when the treaty was due to expire, and have extended it as they try to work out a new agreement.

Obama and Medvedev failed to clinch a deal when they met on the sidelines of the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen earlier this month. No reason was given, although they said they were close to an agreement.

Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Conor Sweeney; editing by Andrew Dobbie for Reuters

Somali pirates hijack three ships

Pirates said they collected $3.5 million for the release of the Chinese bulk carrier Dexinhai [AFP] Somali pirates have captured a freighter, a bulk carrier and a chemical tanker - despite a large foreign warship presence in the Gulf of Aden. Ending 2009 with a flurry of hijackings in one of the most profitable years to date, the Somali sea bandits' latest catch on Tuesday was the St James Park - a UK-flagged chemical tanker with a crew of 26 from nine different countries. According to Andrew Mwangura of the East Africa Seafarers Assistance Programme, the vessel was seized en route from Spain to Thailand but had been commandeered near the northern Somali coast. He said the vessel's last safe port of call was Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and that the crew included seamen from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Philippines, Poland, Georgia, India and Turkey. On Monday, Somali pirates captured a Greek-flagged bulk carrier transporting fertiliser, Mwangura said. The 52,000-tonne Navios Apollon was hijacked "en route from Tampa, Florida to Rozy, India," with a crew consisting of a Greek captain and 18 Filipinos. The ship was boarded by 10 men on speedboats in the Indian Ocean northeast of the Seychelles archipelago, according to the Greek coastguard. Third ship Earlier, pirates seized a Yemeni freighter and 15 crew members. The Al-Mahmoudia2 left the port of Aden, in Yemen, on December 18, the Yemeni authorities said on Monday, without revealing the nature of its cargo or destination. The Yemeni freighter and the UK-flagged chemical tanker were intercepted by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, key maritime bottleneck near the entrance to the Red Sea. The two attacks in the Gulf of Aden were the first since August and came as international naval missions were trumpeting the results of a year-long effort to secure the area. Expanding catchment area Since the end of the summer monsoon season allowed pirate attacks to resume three months ago, Somali pirates had abandoned the Gulf of Aden for the wide open seas of the Indian Ocean, venturing as far as the Seychelles and beyond. Despite the increased international presence off Somalia's coastline - the longest in Africa - pirates raked in huge ransoms. On Sunday, pirates said they collected $3.5 million for the release of the Chinese bulk carrier Dexinhai. The Singapore-flagged MV Kota Wajar was also released nearly 10 weeks after being hijacked, the European Union naval task force said on Monday. The amount of the ransom is not yet known. On-going ransoms The latest captures and releases bring to at least 11 the number of ships currently held by pirates, together with close to 250 seamen, according to Ecoterra International, an environmentalist NGO monitoring maritime activity in the region. Simple technology and basic weapons still proving effective off Somali coast [AFP] Among those in captivity is a British couple captured on October 22 while sailing their yacht to Tanzania. In a recent video broadcast, the pair - Paul and Rachel Chandler - said that their captors were "losing patience" and could kill them within a week if no ransom was paid. The couple were briefly held on board the recently-released MV Kota Wajar. Alongside the EU, the United States, NATO and other national navies also deployed warships off the Somali coast in December 2008 to protect vessels and secure maritime routes in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology, huge budgets and ever-improving coordination, the foreign armada has thwarted many attacks and captured dozens of pirates, generally equipped with rudimentary skiffs, ladders and grapnels. But one out of four ships sailing through the danger zone still does not comply with international recommendations for safe passage, the navies say.

Source: Agencies

Al-Qaeda group claims US plane plot

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said it provided Abdulmutallab with an explosive device [EPA] A group calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has said it was behind the failed attempt by a Nigerian man to bomb a US aircraft on Christmas day. The group said in statements posted on the internet on Monday that the attempt had been carried out to avenge US operations in Yemen. "We tell the American people that since you support the leaders who kill our women and children ... we have come to slaughter you [and] will strike you with no previous [warning]," the statement said. "Our vengeance is near." The group had earlier said in comments posted on a website that it would take revenge against the US over air raids in Yemen that it claims killed about 50 people. Failed attack Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is accused of trying to to light an explosive device while on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. He was overpowered by passengers on the flight, which had nearly 300 people on board. in depth Profile: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula According to a charge sheet prepared by prosecutors, Abdulmutallab tried to bring down the aircraft using a device containing the explosive PETN, also known as pentaerythritol. The explosive material was allegedly sewn into his underwear. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said it had provided Abdulmutallab with the device, but that a technical fault prevented it from detonating. Abdulmutallab, who suffered burns in the incident, was moved from a hospital to a federal prison west of Detroit on Monday. Janet Napolitano, Obama's senior security official, said there was "no indication" Abdulmutallab was acting as part of a larger plot and warned against speculating that he had been trained by al-Qaeda. According to The New York Times, Abdulmutallab told FBI agents he was connected to an al-Qaeda affiliate, which operates largely in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, by a radical Yemeni cleric whom he contacted online. 'Nothing suspicious' The Yemeni government said on Monday that Abdulmutallab had lived in Yemen from August to December after obtaining a visa to study Arabic there, but that there was "nothing suspicious about his intentions" to visit the country. In video Al Jazeera talks to a former CIA agent about the growing threat facing air travel "Authorities are currently investigating who he was in contact with in Yemen and the results of the investigation will be delivered to those concerned with investigating the terror plot in the United States," a statement from the Yemeni foreign ministry said. Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in the US, said that the attack had similarities with other operations carried out by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a relatively new branch of al-Qaeda formed in 2008. "It has carried out several operations - about a year ago against the US embassy in Sanaa, a failed attempt on the Saudi assistant minister of the interior in September. "In this case, the age of the suicide bomber who tried to kill the Saudi assistant minister - 23 years old - [is] the same age as this young man, Abdulmutallab. And the same explosives [were used]. "In the first attack in Saudi Arabia, the attacker put the bomb inside his body to conceal it. This is very similar." Security review Abdulmutallab, a former student in London, was added to a watch-list of about 550,000 names last month after his father told US embassy officials in Abuja that he was concerned by his son's increasing radicalism. Abdulmutallab is accused of trying to blow up a flight as it landed in Detroit [Reuters] But he remained off a short-list of 18,000 names from which the no-fly list of 4,000 is selected and flew from Lagos to Amsterdam on Christmas Eve and on to Detroit the following day with a valid US visa. Barack Obama, the US president, has ordered a review of how travellers are placed on watch lists and the screening procedures of air passengers following the failed bid to blow up the airliner. Speaking while on vacation in Hawaii on Monday, Obama said: "We will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable." Obama has also ordered a second review to examine how "an individual with the chemical explosive he had on him could get onto an airliner in Amsterdam and fly into this country," Robert Gibbs, the White House press spokesman, said. Bob Baer, a former CIA agent who in 2006 warned that a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam could be the target of an attack, said the attempted bombing had shown that security checks are "not effective at all". "It's not a question of a gaping hole, it's a question of the terrorist groups evolving their techniques very quickly," he told Al Jazeera. "So they're getting better and better and they're much faster than our security measures." Bruce Schneier, a writer on security issues and the author of "Beyond Fear", said the epoisode illustrated that there were very few effective security measures on flights. He said on his blog: "For years I've been saying this: Only two things have made flying safer [since 9/11] - the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers. "This week, the second one worked over Detroit. Security succeeded."

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

'US drone' hits Pakistan home

The drone attacks that often cause civilian deaths have sparked anger in Pakistan[AFP] At least four people have been killed and several more injured in a suspected US drone attack on a house in Pakistan's northwest. Pakistani intelligence officials said the missile strike targeted a hideout of anti-government fighters in the Babar Raghazi area of North Waziristan on Saturday. But local security officials told Al Jazeera that those killed in the attack were all civilians. Unmanned drones are often the weapon of choice for the United States as it targets the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in remote, rugged areas along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. But the US military has rarely confirmed the attacks. The use of so-called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which allow the military to operate in highly dangerous areas, is expected to grow in the coming years with the US defence department expected to buy 700 drones next year alone. But the long-distance, remote-controlled warfare that inflicts heavy civilian casualties has sparked public anger in Pakistan. The US government has called on Islamabad to step up its efforts against Taliban- and al-Qaeda-linked fighters who cross over into Afghanistan. The Pakistani army recently completed an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan, which borders North Waziristan. But Pakistani authorities say the military may soon pursue similar operations in other parts of the lawless tribal belt along the Afghan border.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Second chance for Tamil former child soldiers

Sri Lanka's government says it has more than 500 child soldiers in its custody Hundreds of former Tamil Tiger (LTTE) child soldiers are being educated in Sri Lanka as part of government rehabilitation efforts following the rebels' defeat in May. The BBC Tamil service's Swaminathan Natarajan spoke to some of them. Sri Lanka's government says it has 550 ex-child soldiers in its custody - and about half of them are being given the chance of education. "I am from Trincomalee. I was studying in [the] ninth year when I was forcefully taken away by the Tigers," says Murugan, one of the former combatants studying in Colombo. "My mother rescued me from the Tigers with the help of Unicef and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC)," he says. "After my release I went to a school in the LTTE-controlled area. But the situation was not conducive to pursue education. Here we have good facilities. I know I will not get these kinds of opportunities again. I want to be a judge," adds Murugan. Officials say 273 former child combatants are currently attending the Ratmalana Hindu College near Colombo. "Others are given vocational or technical training because their education has been interrupted for a long period," the commissioner general of rehabilitation, Maj Gen Daya Ratnayake (Retd), told the BBC. Forcibly recruited Most of the former child combatants studying in Colombo said they were forcibly taken by the Tigers. Before coming here, these former soldiers were kept in rehabilitation centres in Vavuniya, in northern Sri Lanka, and Ambepussa in the south. I would be happier if I am allowed to stay with my family Former child soldier Students were given vocational training in these centres but were taught in Sinhala - a language they could not understand. But in the new school, students are taught in Tamil. They are learning the school curriculum and after a gap of many months, they also get a chance to interact with members of the Tamil community on a daily basis. "These students are very keen to learn. They don't want to talk about their past. They want to forget it. We understand that. We are trying to create a good atmosphere in the classroom and motivate them," one teacher said. Students are provided with hostel accommodation. But these children are not allowed to mingle with other students and are taught in separate classrooms. The military keeps a constant watch over them. Their movements are restricted. "In due course we will merge them into our regular classes. They are very keen to continue their education. Now we are assessing each and every individual to see where they will fit in," says Nadaraja Manmadaraja, principal of Ratmalana Hindu College. These boys and girls are also encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities like yoga and literary events. Most of these students are aged between 14 and 18. Their families are scattered across the north and the east of the country. Some say their relatives are living in camps for internally displaced people in Vavuniya. "I lost my father. I saw my mother after six months. I met her after coming to Colombo. I will not be able to meet her whenever I want," says Kavitha. "I am always thinking about my home. I would be happier if I am allowed to stay with my family," said another boy. Officials say they are organising special buses from Vavuniya to bring their parents to the school on a regular basis. Propaganda move? However, the rehabilitation programme has also raised concerns. "Some of the parents whose children are studying in the college were apprehensive about this move, because they feared the media spotlight on this school would make it a vulnerable target during a communal clash," a source well connected with the school management told the BBC. But the school principal says he has not received any complaints from the parents. "Generally they are very supportive," he says. Most of the students are aged between 14 and 18 The biggest Tamil political group in Sri Lanka's parliament - the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which was seen as a pro-Tiger grouping during the conflict - is also not impressed with the government's action. They see this as a propaganda move. "The government wants to showcase this to the international community and to the media. It wants to create an impression that other camps are run on the same lines. Sri Lanka's government is keeping over 10,000 suspected LTTE members in various camps. International organisations are not given any access to these camps," says MK Sivajilingam, an MP who recently met the children. But Gen Ratnayake says the government has nothing to hide. "We will provide financial, educational and vocational assistance to help them become independent, responsible citizens," he says. There is no word yet, however, on when the children will be allowed to join their families and be able to lead a normal life, away from the control of the army. A senior United Nations envoy recently called for Sri Lanka to reunite all former child soldiers in its custody with their families. "Military administration at the rehabilitation centre, though appearing gentle with the inmates until now, may not bring a desirable change in the children who witnessed a horrible war in the Wanni region," warns one person with access to the children - and who preferred to remain anonymous. "When the children get used to the new limited atmosphere and realise that they are not free to move and do things they like, unrest might develop." Visit : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8400366.stm

'Five taken hostage' in post office in Virginia, US

Police have evacuated buildings around the post office Five people have been taken hostage in a post office in the US by a man in a wheelchair claiming to be carrying explosives, say reports. Local media reports say grenades have been found in the man's vehicle parked outside the post office in Wytheville. The town mayor of Wytheville, Trent Crewe, told the Associated Press news agency the man had fired shots from the building but no injuries were reported. Police are at the scene and people have been told to evacuate the area. Local businesswoman Susan Holman told the Wytheville Enterprise newspaper police had warned the man had "enough explosives to take out the whole block". Police have cordoned off the scene and advised people to evacuate homes and businesses in the immediate area. "It's completely surrounded by police in every direction," said town manager Wayne Sutherland, speaking from his office nearby. "All I can see is blue lights," he told AP. A police hostage negotiator was reported to have been speaking to the man. Pete Rendina, spokesman for the US Postal Inspection Service, said the man, who was missing part of his leg, had made no demands other than a request for a pizza. Three employees and two members of the public were believed to be inside the post office.

Many missing as Philippines ferry collides with boat

At least 27 people are missing after a passenger ferry collided with a fishing boat in the Philippines, officials say. The wooden-hulled ferry and the fishing boat were between them carrying at least 73 people when they collided in Manila Bay in the early hours. Coastguard spokesman Commander Armando Balilo told local media 46 people had been rescued from the waters. There were no reports of bad weather conditions in the area and the cause of the collision is not yet clear. It comes as thousands of people in the Philippines travel home for the Christmas period. "These are small, wooden vessels," Mr Balilo was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. He said rescue teams had been dispatched and boats in the area had also been asked to help hunt for survivors, reported AFP. Maritime accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of tropical weather, badly maintained passenger boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

Burma to buy Russian MiG planes

MiG-29s are designed in Russia, and used by many nations worldwide Russia has signed a contract to deliver 20 MiG-29 fighter planes to Burma, Russian media reports say. The contract is worth 400m euros (£356m; $570m), sources close to the Russian arms firm Rosoboronexport say. Many countries in the West have imposed sanctions against Burma, in response to its poor human rights record. But the country's military rulers still receive many... for more , Visit : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8428148.stm

'Revenge killings' rattle Mexico

Armed men have killed family members of a Mexican special forces marine involved in a military raid last week that ended in the death of a powerful drug leader. The attack at the family's home in Quintin Arauz on Tuesday took place just hours after the military honoured the officer, Melquisedet Angulo Cordova, as a national hero. He died in the same raid that killed Arturo Beltran Leyva, a cartel head in Cuernavaca. Officials condemned the killing of the For more : http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/12/200912236162828547.html

Russia's Soyuz craft docked with space station

Advertisement Nasa footage shows the Soyuz spacecraft docking at the space station A Russian spacecraft carrying an international crew has docked with the International Space Station, Russia's mission control says. Spokesman Valery Lyndin said the Soyuz TMA-17, launched from Kazakhstan on Monday, docked at 0148 Moscow time on Wednesday (2248 GMT on Tuesday). American Timothy J Creamer, Soichi Noguchi of Japan and Russia's Oleg Kotov were on board. They join an American and a Russian currently on the station. Jeff Williams and Maxim Surayev have been there since October

Teenage killings in UK drop 30% in one year

Some of the teenagers who died in 2009 The number of teenagers killed violently in the UK has fallen by 30% in one year, BBC research has found. The BBC teen homicide database, which records murder and manslaughter cases, shows 51 10 to 19-year olds lost their lives in 2009 compared with 72 in 2008. Most 2009 victims were male and half of all those killed were stabbed. Twelve were beaten and two were shot. Police say anti-knife crime tactics explain the drop, but critics argue it is too early to make such conclusions. Latest victim The BBC News website's database shows that of the 51 young people killed so far this year, the youngest was just 10 years old and the oldest 19. The most common ages of victims were 17 and 18. Most of the victims were white and male - just nine of the 51 were girls. While England saw the vast majority of cases, Scotland had eight, Wales three and Northern Ireland two. Map of teenage homicides Of all cities, London had most deaths - with 13 of its teenage residents losing their lives to violence. However, this is a significant drop from 26 in 2007 and 29 in 2008. The news comes just days after another teenager was stabbed to death in the capital. Art student Salum Kombo, 18, was found dead with stab wounds in east London on Sunday. The only other cities to see more than..... for more pls Visit :http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8424574.stm

Pakistan court orders ears and noses to be cut off

A Pakistani court has ordered that two men have their ears and noses cut off, as punishment for doing the same to a woman who refused to marry one of them. The two brothers were found guilty of kidnapping 20-year-old Fazeelat Bibi, one of their cousins, in September. The judge in Lahore also sentenced them to life in prison and a fine of $2,000. Sentence was passed on Monday under a rarely invoked Islamic law dating from the 1980s. In the past similar sentences have been revoked on appeal. 'Eye for an eye' Government prosecutor Ehtisham Qadir said the punishment had been awarded in accordance with the Islamic principle of "an eye for an eye". Sher Mohammad and ..... for more : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8425820.stm

Nefertiti 'could return to Egypt'

She was considered Egypt's most beautiful queen, but Nefertiti's iconic image has stood in Germany for the last 100 years. Now officials from both countries are talking about the Germans possibly "lending" her statue back to Egypt. The Egyptians claim they were tricked into letting the bust go in the first place. Rawya Rageh reports.

Source: Al Jazeera

Snow storms wreak havoc in US

Fierce snow storms have wrought havoc across the western United States, hitting transport networks and leaving thousands of travellers stranded. Forecasters say that more than 50 centimetres of snow could fall in some parts of the country, and that it could prove to be the most severe snow storm for a decade. Tarek Bazley reports.

Source: Al Jazeera