Battle for Senate Seat Goes to Minnesota’s Top Court

Jeffrey Thompson for The New York Times, left; Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune, via Associated Press

Norm Coleman, left, and Al Franken.

By JOHN SCHWARTZ

Published: June 1, 2009

After half a year of arguments and more than 19,000 pages of legal briefs, the battle over recounting election results for Minnesota’s vacant United States Senate seat reaches the state’s Supreme Court on Monday. And that may not be the last stop.

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The outcome of the fight between the Republican, Norm Coleman, and Al Franken, the Democrat, comedian and author, will determine whether Senate Democrats will have available the 60 votes necessary to kill filibusters. And while Mr. Coleman, who until recently held the seat, can continue to fight, the one-hour hearing before Minnesota’s top court marks a crucial and potentially final stage, said Edward B. Foley, an election law expert at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University.

“I think the Minnesota Supreme Court is, as a practical matter, the final judicial word” in the case, Professor Foley said.

If the judges rule in Mr. Franken’s favor, he said, they could order the governor to issue a certificate of election allowing Mr. Franken to be seated. If they agree with Mr. Coleman’s arguments, they could send the case back to the lower court for a new vote count using more relaxed standards that allow the consideration of several thousand absentee ballots that were previously excluded.

Mr. Franken has won the most recent legal skirmishes, but the Coleman team is arguing for the most expansive interpretation of which ballots should be allowed. “This is all about whether Minnesota will stick with its tradition of trying to enfranchise, rather than trying to disenfranchise, voters,” said a Coleman lawyer, Benjamin L. Ginsberg, who also worked for George W. Bush in his Florida presidential election battle against Al Gore.

The Franken camp declined to comment, citing the coming arguments.

Although Mr. Coleman was ahead in the initial count by 206 votes (and suggested at the time that Mr. Franken should concede), an automatic recount produced a 225-vote Franken lead. A panel of three judges then declared Mr. Franken’s margin to be 312 votes.

Experts in election law suggest that Mr. Franken will prevail. Richard L. Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said that Mr. Coleman’s arguments, which focus on questions of equal protection and due process, “are not arguments you get laughed out of court for.” However, he said, “If I were a betting man, I would not put a lot of money on his winning.”

Professor Foley pointed out that even if Mr. Coleman were allowed a review with additional ballots, the recount still might not deliver him a victory.

If the court does rule against him, Mr. Coleman may fight on, asking the United States Supreme Court to hear the case or even filing a new suit in federal court. Professor Foley and others say neither move would likely change the result, however.

Republican Party officials have insisted that they want Mr. Coleman to continue the fight. When asked by The Minneapolis Star-Tribune whether Mr. Coleman should concede if the State Supreme Court hands him a defeat, Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, responded, “No, hell no.” He added, “Whatever the outcome, it’s going to get bumped to the next level.”

Democrats have charged that Republicans are just using legal delay tactics to deny Democrats their 60-vote Senate majority.

Mr. Ginsberg of the Coleman team declined to discuss whether Mr. Coleman would continue to fight. “The answer to that question depends entirely on what the Supreme Court does, so there’s no point in abject speculation about it,” he said.

Professor Hasen suggested that even if Mr. Coleman were to fight on, or if Minnesota’s Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty, declined to sign the necessary certificate of election, Mr. Franken “should be seated provisionally” by the Senate, which has the authority to resolve disputed elections.

The Senate could reverse itself if the federal courts decided in Mr. Coleman’s favor, but the important thing is to give Minnesota its full Senate representation, Professor Hasen said, “because this has gone on too long.”

Sri Lanka rules out outside probe

--BBC--

Mr Bogollagama said the claims were 'unsubstantiated' Sri Lanka has dismissed calls for an independent inquiry into claims of human rights abuses by the military, saying its own courts will investigate. Foreign minister Rohita Bogollagama said the claims that heavy weaponry was used in civilian areas during the war with Tamil rebels were "fictional". He said the claims were being used to boost accusations of genocide against the country's Tamil minority. Aid agencies and the United Nations have called for an inquiry. The exact number of civilians killed in the final weeks of the long-running war has not been established, but one report put it as high as 20,000. An unverified and unofficial UN estimate said that more than 7,000 civilians were killed and another 13,000 injured in the conflict from January to April this year, according to the BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Colombo. Mr Bogollagama said the allegations were intended to discredit the armed forces and embarrass the government of Sri Lanka. Our people are weary of war, yet they are resilient and want to get on with their lives Rohita Bogollagama Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Government forces were ordered to stop using heavy weapons on 27 April. From that time onwards they were supposed to observe a no-fire zone where 100,000 Tamil men, women and children were sheltering. "Those transmitted, unsubstantiated allegations against the military claimed heavy weapons in civilian areas being used in order to buttress the propaganda of genocide against the Tamil people," Mr Bogollagama said. "This was both fictional and well-fabricated, with ulterior and sinister motives, in order to discredit the armed forces, as well as to embarrass the government of Sri Lanka." He said now that the war was over, the country would seek to rebuild. "Our people are weary of war, yet they are resilient and want to get on with their lives. "Therefore, the post-conflict period will focus on rehabilitation, resettlement, economic development and holding free and fair elections." The UN's senior humanitarian affairs co-ordinator, John Holmes, said that while the estimates had no "justification," the claims were serious and needed to be investigated. Human rights group Amnesty International also called on the UN to investigate. International appeal But Mr Bogollagama, speaking during a summit of Asian defence ministers in Singapore, told Reuters: "Sri Lanka is a sovereign country with its own legal framework. "We have a very strong separation of powers (and) the judiciary is independent." The foreign minister also appealed for international help in disabling, what he described, as the Tamil Tigers' powerful political lobbies outside Sri Lanka that were seeking to resurrect the movement. "It is important for the international community to take all measures to assist the government of Sri Lanka, to track down the global network of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers)," Mr Bogollagama said.

Pakistan battles Taliban; Swat offensive "near end"

Yahoo News

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistani forces battled militants in South Waziristan on the Afghan border on Sunday as a government official said an offensive in the Swat valley could be over in two or three days.

Pakistani forces have undertaken their most concerted offensive against an expanding Taliban insurgency that has raised fears for the nuclear-armed U.S. ally's stability and the safety of its nuclear arsenal.

The focus of the fighting has been the former tourist destination of Swat, 120 km (80 miles) northwest of Islamabad, which the Taliban virtually took as the government alternated between inconclusive military action and peace pacts.

But tension has also been rising in South Waziristan, an al Qaeda and Taliban stronghold, with military officials saying an offensive was likely there after Swat is secured.

The United States and the Afghan government have long been pressing Pakistan to root militants out of South Waziristan and other enclaves on the Afghan border, from where the Taliban direct their Afghan war.

Militants attacked a paramilitary force camp in Jandola, 80 km (50 miles) east of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, late on Saturday, security officials said.

"Militants came in force and attacked a paramilitary camp and fighting lasted for eight hours. At least 40 militants were killed while four soldiers died," said an intelligence official in the region who declined to be identified.

A military spokesman said the militants had been pushed back after a heavy exchange of fire. Up to 15 militants and three soldiers were killed, he said.

There was no independent confirmation of the casualty estimates.

Militant violence in Pakistan has surged since mid-2007, with attacks on the security forces, as well as on government and Western targets.

There have been eight bomb attacks in various towns and cities since the offensive in Swat and neighboring districts began in late April and the Taliban have threatened more.

EXODUS

The offensive in Swat has sparked an exodus of about 2.4 million people, according to government figures, and the country faces a long-term humanitarian crisis.

Bomb attacks in cities and the plight of the displaced could undermine public support for the offensive but for now, analysts say, the authorities are determined to defeat the Taliban in Swat.

The army said on Saturday it had regained full control of Mingora, the main town in Swat, and a top Defense Ministry official said on Sunday the military operation could be over in a two or three days.

"Only five to 10 percent of the job is remaining and hopefully within two to three days, the pockets of resistance will be cleared," Syed Athar Ali, secretary of defense for Pakistan, said at a regional defense meeting in Singapore.

Military spokesman have been cautious about predicting how long the offensive would last, saying there was still resistance in the valley.

"It's very difficult to give a timeline," said chief military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas. "It's a very big area so nobody's in a position to give any timeline for the operation."

On Sunday, the military urged civilians to leave the town of Charbagh, about 15 km (10 miles) north of Mingora, and lifted a curfew there and in Mingora to allow people to get out.

Pakistan is vital for U.S. plans to defeat al Qaeda and cut support for the Afghan Taliban.

The United States, which is sending thousands of reinforcements into Afghanistan, has been heartened by the offensive in Swat.

(Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

Bomb found in toilet on Iran plane

--BBC--

By Jon Leyne
BBC News, Tehran

A homemade bomb discovered on board an Iranian plane has been defused, semi-official news agencies report.

According to several Iranian news agencies, the bomb was discovered on a plane shortly after it took off from the oil-rich city of Ahvaz.

Plain-clothes security guards, who are believed to travel on every Iranian flight, found it in a toilet.

The incident comes at a time of rising tension in the run up to Iran's presidential elections on 12 June.

The plane turned back to Ahvaz for an emergency landing when the bomb was discovered.

The flight resumed after the bomb was defused.

The incident follows a bomb attack on a mosque in the south-east of the country on Thursday.

In the latest incident, the plane was also flying from a border province - this time, an area that borders Iraq, and has also had problems with restive minorities.

Tension seems to be rising in the run up to the presidential election in two weeks time, particularly as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is by no means guaranteed re-election.

G8 wants closer cooperation to fight terrorism, piracy

– Italian interior minister Roberto Maroni gives a press conference at the end of a meeting of the G8 Justice …

ROME (AFP) – Fighting the global terrorism threat as well as the scourge of piracy calls for stronger cooperation among G8 nations, the group's interior and justice ministers said Saturday.

Despite some successes, "terrorism is still one of the most serious threats to international security," the ministers from the Group of Eight rich nations said in a final statement after three days of talks near Rome.

Extremists have shown a "significant offensive capability" and "organisational flexibility," they said, along with an ability to recruit and radicalise their followers, which is "a cause of great concern."

"The counter-terrorism cooperation between G8 nations is essential" to stop the spread of such radicalism, stressed the justice chiefs of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

"The exchange of information on the movement of funding to finance terrorist groups is a major example" of such cooperation, said Italy Justice Minister Angelino Alfano when presenting the final communique.

According to Interpol's special anti-terrorism taskforce, there is a database of more than 8,000 suspects linked to terrorist activists and a network of nearly 200 contact officers in more than 100 countries.

The head of the global police organisation spoke to the G8 ministers Friday on the rising attacks of piracy on the seas, especially off the east African coast of Somalia, saying law enforcement was the missing link in combatting this organised crime.

"There is clearly a need for a common international strategy that includes a law enforcement element to combat maritime piracy and armed robbery at sea," said Interpol Secretary General Robert K. Noble in a statement.

"Right now, we are in a situation in which there are pirates in custody while others have been arrested and released, but there is no central system in place for collecting, exchanging and processing data to help connect the dots," Noble said, suggesting creating an investigative prosecutorial taskforce.

"These pirates are organized criminals targeting victims, taking them hostage and using extortion to get money -- we must therefore follow the money trail to strike a blow at the economic interests of this type of organized crime," he added.

The G8 justice ministers agreed that steps must be taken "to deprive the pirates of the proceeds of their criminal activity," their statement said.

They also encouraged countries affected by piracy -- either due to ships flying their flag being targeted, or their nationals being crew members or passengers on held ships.

It noted that cooperation between states capturing pirates and those able to prosecute them plays "a valuable role in counter-piracy efforts."

According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirate attacks off Somalia in the first quarter of this year surged tenfold to 61, compared with the same period in 2008.

A total of 114 attempted attacks have occurred since the start of the year, and pirates have seized 29 ships.

On the sidelines of the G8 ministers' meeting, anti-globalisation and far left groups organised a demonstration that drew some 4,000 people, according to police, the ANSA news agency reported.

Many protesters brandished signs demanding rights for immigrants, including those that read "papers for all."

A flood of illegal immigration from Africa to southern Europe has led countries such as Italy to take tougher measures on repatriation and turn back boatloads of would-be immigrants to their home ports.

The justice ministers condemned illegal immigration and migrant smuggling, "which feeds the transnational criminal organisations and hampers the integration of legal migrants," their final statement said.

In a separate declaration, the ministers urged tougher measures to combat the "heinous crime" of the sexual exploitation of children such as a blacklist of Internet websites containing child pornography and blocking navigation to paedophile sites.

Pakistan seeks 'hardcore' Taliban

--BBC--

Heavy tanks are being used in the army's operations in the north-west The Pakistani army says it is preparing to flush "hardcore" Taliban rebels out of the Swat valley after regaining control of the main city, Mingora. "We are going after the leadership and we are going to take care of all the militants in the valley," spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told the BBC. Clashes continued outside Mingora but its centre was under control, he said. Essential services were being restored to the city, he added, which was home to 300,000 people before the fighting. See a map of the region Doctors had arrived to re-open the main hospital, gas had been restored and mobile generators would help restore the water system, the general said. But he suggested it would take at least two weeks to restore the electricity network. Local defence committees would be set up eventually to stop militants returning, he added. With journalists barred from the area, it is impossible to verify the situation in the city independently. Some 2.5 million people have fled their homes since military operations began in Swat more than a month ago. 'Better position' "We have been able to block the major routes and the entries, exit points of the valley," said Gen Abbas. "So we are in a better position to flush out, to eliminate the main militants, the hardcore militants of the valley." Major General Athar Abbas claims as few as 1000 militants remain in the Swat valley Troops now have Charbagh, a Taliban stronghold 32km (20 miles) north of the valley, in their sights, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley reports. Helicopters are said to be dropping leaflets advising residents to leave. Soldiers continued to patrol Mingora's largely deserted streets on Saturday, securing neighbourhoods and checking houses for booby-traps. Pakistan has increased its reward for the capture of the Taliban leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, to 50m rupees ($600,000). The radical cleric is believed to be the architect of a two-year uprising in the valley aimed at enforcing Islamic law. It is thought that the Taliban responded to the military campaign this week with a major suicide bomb attack on the country's second-biggest city, Lahore, as well as bombings in two other cities in the north-west. The US is giving full backing to the Pakistani operations, which are linked to its own offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan, our correspondent says.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa says he has "fought India's war"

www.defence.lk

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa says he has "fought India's war" too by militarily eliminating the LTTE, which had assassinated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi 18 years ago.

In an interview to Indian newsmagazine "The Week" published in its latest issue, President Rajapaksa says: "I think my war is part of the South Asian campaign against terrorism. In fact, by eliminating the LTTE militarily, I have fought India's war."

The President commended Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ruling Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi and the Indian people for the support extended to Sri Lanka during the war.

"Nothing is more important for me than what India thinks," he declared.

He is planning to visit India next month to personally thank Indian leaders for their support and to discuss plans for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction in the civil war-ravaged northern and eastern provinces.

"My victory coincided with Sonia Gandhi's electoral victory. I have written to her congratulating her on winning the elections. India's moral support during the war was most important," President Rajapaksa said.

He explained that the India-Sri Lanka Agreement of July 1987 led to the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution. In that way, the homegrown approach covers the position of India, too. This time, a political solution will be devised after taking every shade of Sri Lankan opinion into consideration, he added.

"Since peace is in the interest of Sri Lanka, we have to sit down and decide on its content ourselves," the president said.

He invited Indian industrialists to invest in, and contribute to, the development of Sri Lanka, especially since the security atmosphere will see a radical transformation from now on.

Asked if he wants to build bridges with politicians in Tamil Nadu, he pointed out that he has been congratulated by many Tamil Nadu politicians after the war.

Then he quipped: "Look at the fate of LTTE supporters in Tamil Nadu in the elections. All those who supported the Tigers have been routed. The people of Tamil Nadu have given these terror supporters a fitting reply." He was referring to the humiliating defeat of the likes of Vaiko and Dr Ramadas in the 15th parliamentary election.

The president said the next responsibility of the troops will be to contribute to the relief and rehabilitation of the displaced Tamil people in the north and northeast. Even during the war, they were building roads and bridges in the north, he added.

He also criticised certain NGOs and other aid agencies, and said: These are the elite of Tamil society who had no clue about the hardship faced by the people in the LTTE-held northern Sri Lanka."

Commenting on the allegations of human rights abuse by Lankan soldiers, President Rajapaksa said he thinks that the human rights lobby has got its timing wrong. "Where were they when the LTTE terrorised Sri Lankans all these years?" he asked.

Sri Lankan Minister of Justice passed away

www.news.lk

Sri Lankan minister of justice Amarasiri Dodangoda passed away tonight(2009/05/30). Staywith us for more details.

Pakistan army 'regains' Swat city

--BBC--

Aerial photographs of Mingora this week showed deserted streets Pakistan's army says it has regained control of the Swat valley's main town, Mingora, after Taliban rebels decided not to put up a pitched battle. Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told the BBC that the centre of Mingora was under military control, although there were still skirmishes on the outskirts. Fighting intensified a week ago as troops moved in, advancing house by house against the rebels. Journalists are banned from the area so it is hard to verify army reports. Hundreds of people have been killed and more than two million have fled the Swat valley since the operation against the Taliban was launched after a peace deal broke down earlier this month. See a map of the region The army's latest declaration comes days after a lethal bombing in Lahore, which was later claimed by Taliban as revenge for the Swat operations. Although the military has always had bases in Mingora, the city was in effect under Taliban control in recent weeks. The army reported taking key intersections a week ago and fighting is said to have been fierce in the city which was only recently home to more than 300,000 people. 'More fight' "They [the Taliban] had prepared Mingora city... with bunkers but when they realised that they were being encircled and the noose was tightening, they decided not to give a pitched battle," said Gen Abbas. But he emphasised he was only talking about Mingora and said there was "much more fight[ing]" to be done in the valley. Work, he added, was already beginning to restore essential services to Mingora. The city hospital was being re-opened, he said, with a team of 21 doctors and adequate medical supplies. Gas had also been restored and some mobile generators had been provided for the water system. It would take at least two weeks to restore the electricity network, the general said. As the army aims to clear Taliban strongholds and supply depots in Swat's mountains, soldiers are battling militants in towns where many thousands of civilians are believed to be hiding. The government has also advised residents to leave the town of Charbagh, a Taliban stronghold 20 miles (32km) north of Swat, in advance of an attempt by the military to move in there, AFP reported, quoting unnamed military sources. Following the attack in Lahore, and in Peshawar a day later, Pakistan increased its reward for a Taliban chief to 50m rupees ($600,000, £372,000). The figure is more than 10 times the original bounty for radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah - believed to be the architect of a two-year uprising in the Swat valley intended to enforce Sharia law.

Pakistan ups Taliban chief reward

--BBC--

Pakistan is offering rewards for more than 20 Taliban leaders Pakistan has increased its reward for a Taliban chief in the Swat valley to 50m rupees ($600,000, £372,000). The figure is more than 10 times the original bounty for radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah. Officials acted after Pakistani Taliban leaders warned of more bomb attacks in cities in retaliation for a government offensive in the north-west. Authorities in Peshawar have banned public gatherings a day after at least 10 people died in two separate attacks. On Wednesday at least 24 people died in a bomb attack in Lahore which targeted a police station and intelligence agency offices. As fighting continued in Swat on Friday, the army said 28 militants had been killed in the last 24 hours and seven arrested. It said five soldiers and two civilians were injured in clashes. The figures cannot be independently verified. Sharia law Analysts say the Taliban leader is the architect of a nearly two-year uprising in the Swat valley intended to enforce Sharia law. Peshawar is on high alert after bomb attacks there The price on his head is payable dead or alive, officials said. Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah told Pakistan's APP news agency that the increase was made to "accelerate the efforts" for his arrest. Interior ministry officials say Maulana Fazlullah is behind "various subversive activities". Authorities have offered cash rewards for the arrest of 21 Taliban leaders, including Maulana Fazlullah's spokesman, Muslim Khan. Adverts listing the men - 18 with pictures - appeared in several newspapers on Thursday. Top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud already has a $5m bounty on his head, posted by the US. Hakimullah Mehsud, Taliban commander for the Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions, told the BBC that the attack in Lahore was in response to the army's operation in the Swat valley. He warned of further attacks on "government targets" in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Multan and said citizens should "evacuate their cities". As the city of Peshawar struggled to return to normal after Thursday's blasts, the government in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) imposed a ban on gatherings of five or more people, while restrictions were put on motorists. All educational institutions in the city have also been closed down. Correspondents say that many people in the city are gripped by fear.

N Korea 'planning more missiles'

North Korea's nuclear test and missile launches caused alarm in the South There are signs that North Korea may be planning more missile launches, US defence officials say. Defence officials in Washington said US satellite photos had revealed vehicle activity at a site in North Korea used to fire long-range missiles. The vehicle movements resembled activity before North Korea fired a long-range rocket last month, the officials said. The North fired another short-range missile on Friday, the sixth this week. The officials, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said the US was closely monitoring the North's missile sites and other sensitive facilities. However, a Pentagon official told the BBC that the US had noticed this type of activity on previous occasions which did not always lead to a missile being fired. The official said activity at this site had been going on for more than a couple of days, but did not know for how long exactly. Nuclear tests The North conducted a nuclear test as well as firing missiles this week. ESCALATING TENSIONS 27 May - North Korea says it is abandoning the truce that ended the Korean war and reportedly test-fires another missile 26 May - The North test-fires short-range missiles as South Korea announces it will join a US-led initiative to control trafficking in weapons of mass destruction 26 May - President Barack Obama pledges military support for America's East Asian allies, as the UN condemns the nuclear test 25 May - North Korea stages its second nuclear test, triggering international condemnation 29 April - Pyongyang threatens to carry out a nuclear test unless the UN apologises for criticising its recent rocket launch 14 April - Pyongyang says it is ending talks on its nuclear activities and will restore its disabled nuclear reactor after UN criticism of its rocket launch 5 April - The North goes ahead with a controversial rocket launch, seen by major governments as a cover for a long-range missile test Q&A: North Korea nuclear test What is N Korea's game plan? On Friday North Korea warned of "self-defence" measures if the UN Security Council imposed sanctions over its nuclear test. "If the UN Security Council provokes us, our additional self-defence measures will be inevitable," the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by official media. As global concern over Pyongyang's actions mounted, Chinese fishing boats were reported to be leaving the tense inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea amid fears of military action. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted defence sources as saying the South's military authorities are trying to find out if Chinese ships were told to go. "Chinese fishing boats operating near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) began withdrawing yesterday," the source said. The NLL, which North Korea refuses to recognise, marks the maritime border off the west coast of the peninsula. It was the scene of bloody naval clashes in 1999 and 2002. The hardline communist state, under President Kim Jong-il, has also threatened military action against the South after Seoul's decision to join a US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) under which North Korean ships could be stopped and searched. Pyongyang says this decision is tantamount to an act of war and that it is no longer bound by the Armistice which in 1953 brought an end to the Korean War. South Korea and the United States earlier raised the military alert level in the region which calls for increased surveillance but not increased military manoeuvres. In April, North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket was portrayed by Pyongyang as a peaceful move connected to communications satellite technology. However, the US and its allies said the launch was meant to be a test of a long-range ballistic missile, and failed to send a probe into space. Air samples Meanwhile, initial US government tests to determine if North Korea did detonate a nuclear device on Monday are so far "inconclusive," a US official said on Friday. Tests for radioactivity in air samples taken from the region were still under way but initial analysis did not confirm Pyongyang fired an atomic bomb, the official told AFP news agency. "The results are not in yet," another official said. Experts say seismology readings taken at the time when North Korea claims the test took place are consistent with an atomic explosion. The last time North Korea detonated a nuclear device was in 2006, and US officials then said radioactive debris in air samples confirmed a nuclear device had been detonated underground.

Global crisis 'hits human rights'

--BBC--

Governments are ignoring the poorest people's basic needs, Amnesty says The global economic crisis is exacerbating human rights abuses, Amnesty International has warned. In its annual report, the group said the downturn had distracted attention from abuses and created new problems. Rising prices meant millions were struggling to meet basic needs in Africa and Asia, it said, and protests were being met with repression. Political conflict meant people were suffering in DR Congo, North Korea, Gaza and Darfur, among others, it said. 'Time-bomb' The 400-page report, compiled in 157 countries, said that human rights were being relegated to the back seat in pursuit of global economic recovery. See region by region The world's poorest people were bearing the brunt of the economic downturn, Amnesty said, and millions of people were facing insecurity and indignity. Migrant workers in China, indigenous groups in Latin America and those who struggled to meet basic needs in Africa had all been hit hard, it said. Where people had tried to protest, their actions had in many cases been met with repression and violence. The group warned that rising poverty could lead to instability and mass violence. "The underlying global economic crisis is an explosive human rights crisis: a combination of social, economic and political problems has created a time-bomb of human rights abuses," said Amnesty's Secretary General, Irene Khan. The group is launching a new campaign called Demand Dignity aimed at tackling the marginalisation of millions through poverty. World leaders should set an example and invest in human rights as purposefully as they invest in economic growth, Ms Khan said. "Economic recovery will be neither sustainable nor equitable if governments fail to tackle abuses that drive and deepen poverty, or armed conflicts that generate new violations," she said. See below for highlights of the report by region AFRICA Amnesty says the economic crisis has had a direct impact on human rights abuses on the continent. "People came into the streets to protest against the high cost of living," Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty's Africa programme director, told the BBC's Network Africa programme. "The reaction we saw from the authorities was very repressive. For example, in Cameroon about 100 people were killed in February last year." But the bulk of Amnesty's report concentrated on the continent's three main conflict zones: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Sudan. In DR Congo, the focus was on the east where it said civilians had suffered terribly at the hands of government soldiers and rebel groups. The Hutu FDLR movement, for example, was accused of raping women and burning people alive in their homes. Amnesty said it was also the civilians in Somalia who bore the brunt of conflict, with tens of thousands fleeing violence and hundreds killed by ferocious fighting in the capital, Mogadishu. It also highlighted the killing and abduction of journalists and aid workers. In Sudan, Amnesty catalogued a series of abuses including the sentencing to death of members of a rebel group, a clampdown on human rights activists and the expulsion of several aid groups following the issuing of an international arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir. A number of countries, including Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, were criticised for intimidating and imprisoning members of the opposition. And Nigeria came under fire for the forced evictions of thousands of people in the eastern city of Port Harcourt. ASIA Across the region, millions fell further into poverty as the cost of basic necessities rose, Amnesty said. In Burma, the military government rejected international aid in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis and punished those who tried to help victims of the disaster. It continued campaigns against minority groups which involved forced labour, torture and murder, Amnesty said. In North Korea, millions are said to have experienced hunger not seen in a decade and thousands tried to flee, only to be caught and returned to detention, forced labour and torture. In both North Korea and Burma, freedom of expression was non-existent. In China, the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games was marred by a clamp-down on activists and journalists, and the forcible evictions of thousands from their homes, the report said. Ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet continued to suffer from systematic discrimination, witnessing unrest followed by government suppression. Millions of Afghans faced persistent insecurity at the hands of Taliban militants. The Afghan government failed to maintain the rule of law or to provide basic services to many. Girls and women particularly suffered a lack of access to health and education services. In Sri Lanka, the government prevented international aid workers or journalists from reaching the conflict zone to assist or witness the plight of those caught up in fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Israel's military operation in Gaza in December 2008 caused a disproportionate number of civilian casualties, Amnesty said. Its blockade of the territory "exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation, health and sanitation problems, poverty and malnutrition for the 1.5 million residents", according to the report. On the Palestinian side, both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority were accused of repressing dissent and detaining political opponents. The death penalty was used extensively in Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Across the region, women faced discrimination both under the law and in practice, Amnesty said, and many faced violence at the hands of spouses or male relatives. Governments that included Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen are said to have used often sweeping counter-terrorism laws to clamp down on their political opponents and to stifle legitimate criticism. AMERICAS Indigenous communities across Central and South America were disproportionately affected by poverty while their land rights are ignored, Amnesty said. Development projects on indigenous land were often accompanied by harassment and violence. Women and girls faced violence and sexual abuse, particularly in Haiti and Nicaragua. The stigma associated with the abuse condemned many to silence, the report said, while laws in some nations meant that abortion was not available to those who became pregnant as a result of abuse or assault. Gang violence worsened in some nations; in Guatemala and Brazil evidence emerged of police involvement in the killings of suspected criminals, the report found. America continued to employ the death penalty, the report noted, and concern persisted over foreign nationals held at America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre, although the report acknowledged the commitment by US President Barack Obama to close it down. EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Civilians paid a high price for last year's conflict between Russia and Georgia, Amnesty said. Hundreds of people died and 200,000 were displaced. In many cases, civilians' homes and lives were devastated. Many nations continued to deny fair treatment to asylum seekers, with some deporting individuals or groups to countries where they faced the possibility of harm. Roma (gypsies) faced systematic discrimination across the region and were largely excluded from public life in all countries. Freedom of expression remained poor in countries such as Belarus, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other Central Asian nations.

Sri Lanka rejects deaths report

--BBC--

The Times says that the deaths happened during the Tigers' last stand The Sri Lankan government has strongly denied allegations that more than 20,000 civilians were killed during its recent onslaught against Tamil rebels. The figures published in The Times newspaper in the UK - quoting official documents and witness accounts - is far higher than previously thought. A senior official from Sri Lanka's Centre for National Security told the BBC the accusations were totally false. The UN says that there are no confirmed estimates of civilian casualties. The last time it gave an estimate was about two weeks before the end of the war, when it said that 6,500 people had died. But the UN Resident Co-ordinator for Sri Lanka, Neil Buhne, has told the BBC that they have no final figure in part because access to displaced people in camps is restricted by the government. Expert testimony The Times on Friday published what it says are photographs showing a devastated area in the former conflict zone where an estimated 100,000 people were sheltering. The government says that it is doing all it can to protect displaced people It said that more than 20,000 Tamil civilians had been killed in the final throes of the war, most as a result of government shelling. Video evidence published by The Times suggests that the Tamil Tigers established mortar positions and military encampments within camps for displaced people, which were then shelled by the military. Government forces were meant to have stopped using heavy weapons on 27 April. From that time onwards they were supposed to observe a no-fire zone where 100,000 Tamil men, women and children were sheltering. The paper says that it compiled its evidence using aerial photographs, official documents, witness accounts and expert testimony. "The offensive ended Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war with the Tamil Tigers, but innocent civilians paid the price," The Times says. It says that the evidence was compiled from confidential UN documents which record 6,500 civilian deaths in the no-fire zone up to the end of April, with an average of 1,000 civilians killed each day until 19 May, the day after Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Tamil Tigers, was killed. 'Jilted old woman' A senior official from Sri Lanka's Centre for National Security, Laksham Hullegalle said there had been no shelling or killing in the zone, and that the photographs were "totally unbelievable". Fighting intensified in the latter stages of the war "The decision was taken by the government not to use any heavy weapons from the beginning of this month," he said. "From that time onwards there was no heavy shelling." Mr Hullegalle said there was a possibility the photos were fake and that there had been no corroborating evidence from civilians who fled the area and no bodies discovered. The Permanent Secretary to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Palitha Kohona, also dismissed the report. "I am bemused that The Times, like a jilted old woman, is continuing a bitter campaign against Sri Lanka based on unverified figures and unsubstantiated assertions," he said. "The simple fact is that Sri Lanka eliminated a detestable terrorist group and in the process rescued over 250,000 hostages held as a human shield by the terrorists."

Colombo hails UN 'diplomatic win'

--BBC--

The government says it has won diplomatically and militarily The Sri Lankan government is hailing its "diplomatic victory" following the decision of the UN Human Rights Council to support its humanitarian efforts. Colombo successfully resisted attempts by Western nations at the Geneva meeting - which concluded on Wednesday - to investigate alleged war crimes. The government completed its offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels last week. The army says that rebels are still capable of carrying out hit-and-run attacks but cannot regroup militarily. "We have destroyed the rebel leadership's first, second and third rungs. The Tamil Tigers are over," army commander Gen Sarath Fonseka said at a ceremony to honour his field commanders. "We expanded our troop strength and took a practical approach to finish the war... within two years and 10 months," he said after reviewing a guard of honour. Abuses While the army and state-run newspapers continue to celebrate its victory on the battlefield, the government is celebrating what it sees as its triumph on the diplomatic front. Aid agencies have complained that access to the camps is being blocked It managed to head off attempts by Western countries during a special session of the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva for an inquiry into human rights abuses committed by both sides. The council session, called because of concerns over the high number of civilian casualties in the fighting and the plight of thousands of displaced Tamil people, ended late on Wednesday with a resolution praising the outcome of the war. "This is a strong endorsement of our president's efforts to rout terrorism, and the successful handling of the world's biggest hostage crisis," Sri Lanka's Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said. "It is a clear message that the international community is behind Sri Lanka." The government had the support of most Asian countries in fending off demands for an inquiry which Western countries argue is necessary to investigate allegations that the rebels used civilians as human shields, while the army subjected them to intense and indiscriminate shelling. The UN estimates that more than 7,000 civilians were killed in the first four months of this year alone. The final resolution, passed by 29 votes to 12 with six abstentions, welcomed what it called Sri Lanka's continued commitment to the protection of human rights. It also urged the international community to provide financial assistance towards Sri Lanka's reconstruction. It said that UN aid agencies wanting full access to the 300,000 displaced people in army-run camps should only receive this "as may be appropriate" and that the war was a "domestic" matter. Human rights groups said it was another sign that the council - supposed to be the world's top human rights watchdog - is now so politicised that it is virtually meaningless. The military has so far refused to release refugees from the camps, saying they must be screened to weed out any Tamil Tiger rebels who may be hiding among them.

Cyclone victims are 'without aid'

By Subir Bhaumik
BBC News, Calcutta

'Water was gushing in'

Tens of thousands of people in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal are still struggling with the aftermath of Cyclone Aila.

Many are still without enough food, water and medicines.

More than 200 bodies have been recovered - mainly from the Sundarbans delta area.

Nearly half a million people are homeless and troops and border guards are helping the civil administrations in relief operations.

Relief officials say many more corpses are still to be recovered from the slowly receding flood waters.

Thousands of villagers rendered homeless by the cyclone in West Bengal say that the government is yet to provide them with material for temporary shelters - so they are forced to live in makeshift camps where space and sanitation are inadequate.

Doctors say they fear the outbreak of an epidemic of water-borne diseases like diarrhoea and gastroenteritis in the cyclone-hit areas.

But the impact of the storm is worst in the Sundarbans delta, famous for its mangrove forests and Royal Bengal tigers.

Officials involved in the relief operation say dead bodies are still floating all around the delta and many people are stranded in the remote region.

They say that displaced people are still not getting enough food and water, despite sporadic air drops of supplies.

The damage to the mangrove forest has been considerable and environmentalists fear that many tigers may have been washed away by tidal surges.

Fears for new malaria drug resistance

--BBC News--

The drug resistance was first detected in Pailin province in western Cambodia By Jill McGivering BBC News, Cambodia In a small community in Western Cambodia, scientists are puzzling over why malaria parasites seem to be developing a resistance to drugs - and fearing the consequences. Ten days ago, Chhem Bunchhin, a teacher in Battambang Province, became ill with chills, fever, headache and vomiting. At a nearby health centre he was treated with drugs considered a "silver bullet" in the battle against falciparum malaria. This treatment with artesunate drugs was part of a clinical study being carried out by the US Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Science (AFRIMS). In the past, artesunates have always cleared malaria parasites from the blood in two or three days. But after four days of monitored treatment, Chhem Bunchhin was still testing positive for parasites. The anti-malarial drugs worked more slowly in Chhem Bunchhin Dr Delia Bethell, an investigator working on the clinical trials, said he wasn't alone. Out of about 90 patients included in the study so far, roughly a third to half were still positive for malaria parasites after three days, some even after four or five days. "It appears that the artesunate is working more slowly than previously," she said. "It appears that the parasite probably is developing some kind of tolerance or is somehow less sensitive to the effects of the drug. But nobody knows why that might be." These early results need to be more thoroughly investigated, she said. The concern is that this could be the start of emerging resistance to the artemesinin family of drugs. If full-blown resistance did develop, it would be extremely dire. "This is by far the most effective drug we have," explained Dr Bethell. "And there are no new drugs coming through the system in the next few years." Scientists are particularly concerned because the last two generations of anti-malarial drugs were undermined by resistance. Dr Delia Bethell says the reason for the resistance is a mystery And in those earlier cases, resistance also started in Western Cambodia, and in a similar way. No-one is sure why this area seems to have become a nursery for anti-malaria drug resistance. One factor could be the inappropriate use of drugs, related to a lack of medical supervision. The public health system is weak. Government clinics often run out of drugs or may be closed when patients want access to them. Instead, many patients visit private pharmacies to buy anti-malarial drugs there. Coloured tablets I visited one small drugs stall in Pailin's general market, sandwiched between a clothes outlet and a general grocery store. All pharmacies are supposed to be licensed. But the stallholder told me he didn't have a licence. He'd applied for one, he said, but the paperwork had never been processed. Many others running pharmacies, he said, were in the same position. I watched him and his wife make up their own packets of drugs on the glass-topped counter, shaking a variety of coloured tablets into unlabelled plastic bags. In many such private pharmacies, the customers choose what they want, deciding partly by price. The quality of the advice they get varies enormously. If, as a result, they end up taking the wrong drugs in the wrong combinations, this too can fuel drug resistance. The availability of many counterfeit drugs on the market only compounds the problem. Villagers are happy to queue to receive mosquito nets Professor Nick Day, director of the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, is also running clinical trials in the region. He and his team have also found that artesunate-type drugs are starting to become less effective. This resistance must be contained urgently, because its spread would be a global health disaster, he said. Resistance to previous malaria drugs caused major loss of life in Africa, he said. "If the same thing happens again, the spread of a resistant parasite from Asia to Africa, then that will have devastating consequences for malaria control." In a clearing in the jungle, about one and a half hours drive from Pailin along rough dirt roads, I watched health workers distribute mosquito nets to about 200 villagers. It's one of a series of measures being rushed through to stop the spread of resistant parasites. If they're not contained, history may repeat itself - and the fear is that many millions of people worldwide will lose their protection against this deadly disease.

Residents seethe as Pakistan army destroys homes

--Associated Press--

AP – A Pakistani woman carries her soon as she walks through the rubble of houses destroyed in an air strike …

SULTANWAS, Pakistan – When Pakistan's army drove the Taliban back from this small northwestern village, it also destroyed much of everything else here.

F-16 fighter jets, military helicopters, tanks and artillery reduced houses, mosques and shops to rubble, strewn with children's shoes, shattered TV sets and perfume bottles.

Commanders say the force was necessary in an operation they claim killed 80 militants. But returning residents do not believe this: Although a burned-out army tank at the entrance to Sultanwas indicates the Taliban fought back, villagers say most fighters fled into the mountains.

Beyond any doubt is their fury at authorities for wrecking their homes — the sort of backlash the army doesn't want as it tries to win the support of the people for its month-old offensive against the Taliban in Pakistan's northwest frontier region near the border with Afghanistan.

"The Taliban never hurt the poor people, but the government has destroyed everything," Sher Wali Khan told the first reporting team to reach the village of about 1,000 homes.

"They are treating us like the enemy," he said as he collected shredded copies of a Quran from the ruins of a mosque, one of three that were damaged, possibly beyond repair.

The anger in this village is an echo of recent years, when previous army offensives against the Taliban in the northwestern frontier area caused widespread civilian casualties and damage to homes. The military's heavy-handed approach here shows it may still be more equipped to fight conventional war with India than guerrilla warfare in the shadows of mountain villages and towns, where militants use civilians as cover.

The Associated Press traveled to Sultanwas on Wednesday after the Pakistani army briefly lifted a curfew in the Buner district to allow residents to return.

But the fight for the region is clearly not over. Just beyond the village, a makeshift army checkpoint shows where its control ends. Beyond that, the army and villagers say the Taliban are in charge, patrolling streets on foot and in pickup trucks.

The United States wants a resounding victory against insurgents who are threatening not only the stability of this nuclear-armed country, but also the success of the American-led mission in neighboring Afghanistan.

The army launched its operation in April to take back the northwest after the militants lost popular support across the region partly because of their defiance of a peace deal with the government. The Taliban have also carried out atrocities in the northwest and claimed responsibility for attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians elsewhere in Pakistan.

But residents of Sultanwas say the militants in their village threatened no one.

Khan, a 17-year-old who is quick with a smile and hopes to attend medical school, said about five militants occasionally came to a mosque. There, he said, they preached an ultraconservative brand of Islam and called for overthrowing the government because it was not implementing Islamic law. He said he did not agree with either position.

Khan fled with his family and most other residents when the army warned them last week to get out because the offensive was about to reach them.

The Taliban entered Buner last month from the Swat Valley, an advance that triggered the military's offensive. There was very little damage to buildings in the road leading to Sultanwas, which military officials said used to be one of the Taliban's major strongholds in the district.

The army says it is making every effort to avoid damaging buildings in the offensive. Reporters on a military-escorted trip to part of the Swat Valley last week saw no significant destruction.

But the army used helicopters, F-16 jets, tanks and artillery in the battle for Sultanwas. While the military says this tactic reduces army casualties by "softening up" areas before troops move in, critics question its effectiveness against a small and, for the most part, lightly armed insurgent force moving in and out of towns.

Khan and others insisted the militants were not living in their homes either before or after the attack.

There were no bodies, blood or obviously buried corpses in the rubble, which spans an area the size of two football fields, roughly a third of the village. A reporter could find no sign any rebels had dug in there or used the area as a base. Residents said the same.

"When the operation started, the Taliban all ran away from the area," said Rosi Khan, citing an account from the only three villagers who he said stayed behind. He could not say where those villagers are now.

Spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said fleeing villagers had told military officials that militants were using Khan's house and others nearby. He said 80 insurgents were killed in the operation, and that other militants apparently removed their bodies.

But two officers involved in the Buner operations said most of the roughly 400 fighters believed to be there escaped to the mountains — terrain they know far better than do army troops trucked in from elsewhere in Pakistan. The two officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give information to reporters.

It is a pattern the military says the outgunned and outnumbered militants are following elsewhere in the region, including in the main Swat Valley city of Mingora.

A defense attache for a Western embassy said the Swat operation appeared to be better organized and more coordinated than earlier ones in the northwest. But he questioned whether the 15,000 troops deployed against roughly 4,000 militants were enough to secure the region.

Besides Swat, Pakistan needs to keep troops elsewhere in the border region where al-Qaida and other militants are strong. But most of its roughly 700,000-member army is stationed on or close to the border with India, the country's traditional rival.

To claim victory, the government will have to ensure the militants do not return to the Swat Valley and Buner, and that the 2.4 million people who fled the fighting stay on the government's side when they come home.

The army is appealing for refugees to return to Sultanwas, but as elsewhere in Buner, few were heeding the call.

A week after the battle for this village ended, there was still no police, electricity or civilian administration.

"The political leadership is not here, there is no police," said a senior army officer, who asked not be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "How can you expect them to return?"

An AP photographer saw several people looting food and drinks from a damaged store in Sultanwas. They stopped only when other villagers reprimanded them.

At a checkpoint in Sultanwas, young men riding in buses from Taliban-controlled Pir Baba were ordered to lift their shirts and be searched, but there was little sign they were making serious checks of all those leaving the area.

In Pir Baba, Taliban fighters armed with rocket launchers and assault rifles are patrolling the streets, said Mohammed Yusuf, a 50-year-old farmer who was leaving but intended to return after buying vegetables at the nearest open market, several miles away.

"They are on the streets in the morning and evening," Yusuf said. "They are friendly. Some of them I know from my area."