පණිවුඩය: December 2010

Friday, December 31, 2010

Several killed in 'missile strike'

Pakistani intelligence officials say a US missile strike has killed at least four alleged militants near the town of Ghulam Khan in the North Waziristan tribal agency.

"It was an American drone attack. Four militants have been killed - the death toll may rise," a security official in Miranshah, North Waziristan's main town, told the AFP news agency.

Another security official in Peshawar confirmed the attack and death toll, but the AP news agency has quoted security officials as putting the toll at eight.

Officials in Miranshah and Peshawar say the militants killed in the strike were associated with the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, but they are still seeking more information on this.

They said the militants were moving from one area to another when their vehicle was struck by missiles from an unmanned US aircraft.

Ghulam Khan is known to be controlled by fighters from a militant group headed by Maulvi Gul Bahadur, and is located 15km northwest of Miranshah, the main town in North....

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Egypt flood waters kill 15 people on school bus

Fifteen people were drowned when a school bus was swept off the road by flood waters caused by torrential rain, Egyptian police say.

The bus was driven into a deep trench and overturned by the flood waters. It was carrying more than 70 people, mostly schoolgirls.

The accident happened late on Wednesday near the city of Minya 200km (120 miles) south of Cairo.

The last two survivors were pulled out of the wreckage early on Friday.

An ambulance driver who had helped in the rescue was himself swept away and died.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies of....

Thursday, December 30, 2010

NI swine flu cases have 'more than doubled'

Cases of H1N1 infection have more than doubled

The number of swine flu cases in Northern Ireland has more than doubled in the past week.

The Public Health Agency said those eligible for the H1N1 vaccine should see their doctor as soon as possible.

Official data shows the number of cases has more than doubled from 56 to 129

But BBC Northern Ireland Health Correspondent Marie Louise Connolly said that, judging by last year's statistics, the real figure is probably a lot higher.

According to the Public Health Agency there has been an increase in all flu activity, including those with respiratory problems.

The classic flu symptoms are a sudden fever, headache, muscle aches, a dry cough and sore throat.

The average duration of...

Iran halts oil sales to India

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Iran's state oil company wants payments for oil sales to be guaranteed by India's central bank [EPA]

An oil trading dispute between India and Iran has further escalated, with Tehran refusing to sell oil to India under new rules instituted by New Delhi.

The Reserve Bank of India has said that deals with Iran must be settled outside the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) system used by it and other member nations' central banks to settle bilateral trades.

Iran's state-owned oil company has refused to accept payments for oil sales to India without guarantees from India's central bank.

Iranian sources have confirmed the dispute and Indian sources said officials from the central banks of the two countries are set to meet on Friday to further discuss the matter.

Iran, which is under UN sanctions over its nuclear programme, is likely to want to rescue a trade that is worth about $12bn a year.

While the UN sanctions.........

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Flu deaths continue to increase

The majority of deaths were in people infected with swine flu

FLU OUTBREAK

Thirty-nine people in the UK have now died with flu-like illnesses this winter, figures show.

All but three of them were infected with the H1N1 swine flu virus, while the remainder had influenza B, the Health Protection Agency data shows.

The figures were published as the government announced it is to re-launch an ad campaign to raise awareness of how to guard against flu.

Earlier this week GPs said cases had risen to 124 per 100,000 people.

The latest figures for Scotland, released on Thursday, showed 55 cases of flu per 100,000 - up from 45.8 per 100,000 in the previous week.

The HPA figures show 12 people died in....

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Triple suicide bombing hits Mosul

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There are currently about 50,000 US troops in Iraq, operating in 'support and advisory' roles [GALLO/GETTY]

Three suicide bombers have attacked a police headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing the commander and three other officers.

Officials speaking on condition of anonymity said three men with explosive vests attempted to blow up a police compound housing Iraq's First Police Battalion on Wednesday.

Police shot one of the bombers as the three approached the complex. Two managed to get inside and blow themselves up, killing the battalion's commander.

A hospital official confirmed the fatality, but there was no word on the injured.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Baghdad, said that the attack "brought down, essentially, the entire building".

"This happened in the early hours of this morning and until now, rescue teams are still trying to pull bodies and survivors from under the rubble.," she said.

"We understand that in addition to the police commander, at least three other police officers were killed."

In a separate incident, a government-backed Sahwa (Awakening movement) leader escaped unharmed when a bomb attached to his car exploded in Baghdad's southern Doura district on Tuesday, an interior ministry....

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Sunday, December 26, 2010

Strong aftershocks hit Christchuch, New Zealand

26 December 2010 Last updated at 13:33 GMT Help

A series of strong aftershocks from a September earthquake has rattled Christchurch in New Zealand on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The most powerful tremor was 4.9 magnitude and its impact was magnified by its proximity to the city centre.

Buildings were damaged, power supplies temporarily cut and a large shopping centre was evacuated.

The city of 370,000 people was hit by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake three months ago, causing widespread destruction.

Man rescued after being swept away in Australian floods

26 December 2010 Last updated at 13:27 GMT Help

Tropical Cyclone Tasha has caused heavy rain and flooding over a large area of the Australian state of Queensland.

One man had a lucky escape after getting stranded in the middle of rushing floodwaters as he and a friend attempted to cross a creek.

Dozens dead in India road accident

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Up to 35 people have been killed and another 14 injured after a bus collided with a van full of mourners in northern India, according to police.

Saturday's accident occurred near the town of Badaun in Uttar Pradesh. Badaun is 280km southwest of Lucknow, the state capital.

DYS Chauhan, a regional police official, said on Sunday that the van was returning from a funeral when it went through a mound of sand, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

The van then crashed into the bus, killing the bus driver along with the others.

India, with the world's second-largest population, has the highest annual road death toll in the world, according to the World Health Organisation.

More than 110,000 people die each year in India in road accidents caused by speeding, bad roads, overcrowding and poor vehicle maintenance, according to police.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Pakistan suicide bombing kills dozens in food aid queue 25 December 2010 Last updated at 16:21 GMT Help At least 40 people have been killed and anoth

25 December 2010 Last updated at 16:21 GMT Help

At least 40 people have been killed and another 100 injured after a female suicide bomber attacked a crowd receiving food aid in north-west Pakistan.

People displaced by fighting in the Bajaur region were gathered at a UN food distribution point in the town of Khar when the attack happened.

It came as as Pakistan's military took action against militants in Mohmand, a neighbouring tribal region, killing an estimated 40 rebels.

Aleem Maqbool reports from Islamabad.

Tsunami warning issued after strong quake in Pacific

(CNN) -- A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean's Vanuatu Islands region early Sunday, prompting a tsunami warning for the area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake struck 135 kilometers (85 miles) west of the island of Tanna, Vanuatu and 1,740 kilometers (about 1,100 miles) off Australia's eastern coast just after midnight local time (8:16 a.m. ET).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a regional warning for a part of the Pacific, including Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji.

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicenter within minutes to hours," the center said. "Authorities in the region should take appropriate action in response to this possibility."

The tsunami warning did not include the U.S. state of Hawaii, though some coastal areas of the islands could experience very rough seas and strong currents.

Dozens killed in Ecuador bus crash

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The bus was travelling from Quito, the capital, to the eastern town of Chone and San Isidro [AFP]

At least 35 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a bus plunged about 1,100 feet (350 meters) off a foggy, rainy mountain road in Ecuador, say rescue workers.

A Red Cross worker, Jorge Arteaga, said by telephone that Friday's accident occurred before dawn in the western province of Manabi.

The bus was travelling from Quito, the capital, to the eastern town of Chone and San Isidro.

The Red Cross sent 30 volunteers and five ambulances to the scene.

Attorney General Washington Pesantez said last month that there are 43,000 road accidents a year in Ecuador, producing about eight deaths a day.

Dozens killed in Ecuador bus crash

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The bus was travelling from Quito, the capital, to the eastern town of Chone and San Isidro [AFP]

At least 35 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a bus plunged about 1,100 feet (350 meters) off a foggy, rainy mountain road in Ecuador, say rescue workers.

A Red Cross worker, Jorge Arteaga, said by telephone that Friday's accident occurred before dawn in the western province of Manabi.

The bus was travelling from Quito, the capital, to the eastern town of Chone and San Isidro.

The Red Cross sent 30 volunteers and five ambulances to the scene.

Attorney General Washington Pesantez said last month that there are 43,000 road accidents a year in Ecuador, producing about eight deaths a day.

India satellite rocket explodes

The rocket carrying India's communication GSAT-5P satellite explodes after take-off, 25 December

The explosion occurred seconds after the rocket carrying the GSAT-5P satellite took off

An Indian space rocket carrying a communications satellite has exploded on take-off.

Live TV footage showed the rocket disappearing in a plume of smoke moments after its launch in Sriharikota near the city of Chennai (Madras).

India's space organisation said it was investigating the cause of the failure.

India is seeking to increase its share of the growing commercial satellite launch market, and says it wants to send a manned mission in space in 2016.

India's Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) was carrying the GSAT- 5P communication satellite when it exploded in the first stage of the flight on Saturday.

"The performance of the (rocket) was normal up to about 50 seconds. Soon after that the vehicle developed large altitude error leading to breaking up of the vehicle," the head of the Indian Space Research Organisation, K Radhakrishnan, told reporters.

"But what caused this interruption has to be studied in detail."

India has successfully launched lighter satellites in recent years, but has faced problems sending up heavier payloads.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Assange dismisses threat of extradition to US

Julian Assange says he could be killed if he was sent to jail in America

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said it would be "politically impossible" for Britain to extradite him to the United States for espionage.

Mr Assange told the Guardian newspaper there was a "high chance" he would be killed if he was jailed in America.

US authorities are thought to be considering whether they could extradite him on espionage charges.

He is currently on bail facing extradition proceedings to Sweden on sexual assault allegations.

Mr Assange denies the claims and says the case is politically motivated.

His Wikileaks website has published......

India's Ulfa rebel leader: Son abducted in Bangladesh

Mr Barua has opposed talks with India

The leader of an Indian separatist group has alleged that his son has been kidnapped in Bangladesh.

Paresh Barua, head of the military wing of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), said his teenage son's kidnappers were "pressurising" him to negotiate with the Indian government.

Indian intelligence officials have dismissed Mr Barua's claim.

They say the Ulfa is divided on the question of whether to join the peace process with India or not.

Ulfa rebels have fought for a separate Assamese homeland since 1979.

In an emailed statement, Mr Barua said his son's kidnappers tactics "won't work".

"Thousands of young men and women have died fighting for Assam's independence and my son may join that long list of martyrs. If that happens, I will be prepared for it," he said.

Mr Baruah did not provide details about when his son was kidnapped. He broadly alluded to "an Indian conspiracy", but the rebel chief was not specific about who could have been behind it.

But his statement attacked some.....

Monday, December 20, 2010

Russia warns US on START treaty

Obama has prioritised a reduction in nuclear arms as part of his foreign policy [AFP]

Russia has said that it will not change a draft nuclear arms treaty with the US, that Barack Obama, the US president, wants ratified with Senate support by the end of this year.

On Monday Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said to the Russian news agency Interfax that the proposed New START treaty "cannot be opened up and become the subject of new negotiations".

The treaty is set to...

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Deadly earthquake hits Iran

An earthquake in southeast Iran has killed at least five people and destroyed homes, a regional governor has said.

The quake struck late on Monday in a mountainous region and was given a 6.3 magnitude by the US Geological Survey.

Kerman province is said to be the worst affected area.

"Seven people have been killed and hundreds have been injured. Hundreds of people are still trapped under the rubbles," Esmail Najjar, governor of Iran's Kerman province, the centre of the quake, told the semi-official Mehr news agency.

At least three villages were destroyed, leaving hundreds of people trapped under rubble, according to Mehr, a semi-official news agency....

North Korea 'will not hit back' over Yeonpyeong drills

20 December 2010 Last updated at 16:41 GMT Help

North Korea says it will not retaliate despite "reckless provocations" from the South, which held live-fire drills on the flashpoint island of Yeonpyeong.

The North shelled the island last month after similar drills and had threatened more retaliation this time.

But state media quoted the army as saying it was "not worth reacting".

UN Security Council talks ended without a deal on the weekend, reportedly after China refused to agree to a statement critical of its ally, the North.

Tour bus crash kills 28 in Malaysia

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Malaysia has the highest rate of traffic accident fatalities in Southeast Asia [Reuters]

A double-decker bus carrying Thai tourists overturned on a Malaysian highway on Monday, killing 28 people on their way back from a hill resort in the country's worst road accident in years.

The tourists were heading to Kuala Lumpur after a weekend trip to the popular Cameron Highlands in central Malaysia when their bus spun out of control and crashed into a protective barrier, a district police official said.

The bus then flipped over and landed beside a rocky slope, he said.

Photographs of the site showed the wrecked bus in a shallow ditch, with its tyres and passengers' belongings scattered around. Bodies covered with black sheets were placed beside the road.

The accident may have been caused by speeding or brake failure, the official said.

Fatal crash

Rescuers recovered 22 bodies, and another six people died after being taken to a hospital, he said. About a dozen other passengers were injured.

The bus was reportedly operated by....

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Russia-India to sign defence deals

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Russia expects a series of major defence and business deals out of Medvedev's two-day visit to India [Reuters]

Russia and India are expected to sign billions of dollars worth of defence and nuclear deals during the Russian president's visit starting Tuesday.

An expected highlight of Dmitry Medvedev's trip will be a $30bn agreement for the design and development of a new stealth fighter jet to be inducted into the Indian air force, Alexander Kadakin, the Russian ambassador, told reporters.

The aircraft would be the equivalent of the US air force's F-22 Raptor.

"There is robust defence cooperation between the two countries," Vishnu Prakash, a foreign ministry spokesman, said.

"It is not a mere buyer-seller relationship, but the two sides are looking at joint research and development and joint production."

During the Cold War, India and the Soviet Union shared a deep relationship, while the US tilted toward India's neighbour Pakistan.

In the post Cold War period, India has moved closer to the United States, but its strategic partnership with Russia has endured.

"We can rightfully call it a privileged partnership," Medvedev said in an interview with the Times of India newspaper published Monday.

Medvedev, who will be......

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Saturday, December 18, 2010

Foreign troop death toll hits 700 in Afghanistan

A U.S. soldier arrives at the site of a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul November 12, 2010. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

KABUL | Sat Dec 18, 2010 8:22pm EST

KABUL (Reuters) - A member of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan was killed on Sunday, taking the total number of foreign troops killed in 2010 to 700, by far the deadliest year of the war since the Taliban were toppled in 2001 .

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said one service member was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. It gave no other details, including the nationality of those killed.

A total of...

Bangladesh boat accident leaves dozens dead

At least 37 people have died after a boat capsized in north-eastern Bangladesh, rescue officials say.

They say the boat sank after hitting a cargo vessel in the Surma River at Alipur, some 240km (150 miles) north-east of the capital, Dhaka.

More than 100 people - mostly labourers - are said to have been on board. Most of the victims were reportedly women and children.

Rescuers have been....

Israeli air strike kills five in Gaza Strip

Trails of rockets fired from Gaza – January 2009

Rocket fire from Gaza has dropped sharply since 2008

Israel and the Palestinians

An Israeli air strike has killed five people in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources and the Israeli military.

The five killed were militants, Palestinian hospital sources said.

The strike targeted "a squad of terror operatives", Israel said, "who were preparing to launch rockets towards Israeli territory".

Rocket fire from Gaza has dropped sharply since Israel's devastating 22-day offensive in December 2008.

Hamas, the Islamist group which controls the Gaza Strip, says it has tried to stop rocket fire aimed at Israel.

Palestinian sources later identified the five dead as members of a small militant group, Ansar al-Sunna, Reuters news agency reported.

In the past 18 months one person in Israel, a Thai farm worker, has been killed by a rocket fired from Gaza.

According to Israeli Defence Force figures, 180 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel by militants in 2010.

The United Nations says...

Russia 'seriously concerned' over Korea tensions

A South Korean marine stands guard on Yeonpyeong island

The exercises on Yeonpyeong island are due to be held in the coming days

Russia says it is seriously concerned that tensions between North and South Korea will escalate further.

Pyongyang is threatening to retaliate if the South goes ahead with planned military exercises on an island near the two countries' disputed sea border.

Last month four people were killed when the North attacked the island during similar exercises.

The UN Security Council is preparing discuss the situation at an emergency meeting, scheduled at Russia's request.

Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said his country was "seriously concerned about possible further escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula".

"We believe that the Security Council must send a restraining signal... and help launch diplomatic activity with a view to resolving all issues of dispute between the two Korean sides by political and diplomatic means," he said.

'Catastrophe'

Russia has already urged South Korea to cancel the live-fire exercises on Yeonpyeong island.

The South has said...

Bank of America stops handling Wikileaks payments

The facade of a Bank of America office in Washington. File photo

The Bank of America said it stopped "transactions of any kind" for Wikileaks

Wikileaks Revelations

Bank of America has stopped handling payments for whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, joining several other major financial institutions.

It said it acted because "Wikileaks may be engaged in activities that are... inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments".

In response, Wikileaks urged its supporters to stop doing business with the bank - one of the world's largest.

MasterCard, PayPal and other companies earlier cut off Wikileaks' payments.

The financial institutions acted after Wikileaks - together with several major media organisations - began publishing thousands of secret US diplomatic cables, causing tension between Washington and some of its allies.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was earlier this week freed on bail in the UK while facing.....

S Korea military drills to go ahead

As the threat of war looms, there are widespread calls for South Korea to halt military exercises with the US [Reuters]

South Korea has vowed to go ahead with artillery drills on a border island shelled by North Korea last month despite Pyongyang's threat to retaliate again.

A South Korea official said on Saturday that the military is ready to respond to any possible provocation.

He also said the drills were not expected over the weekend because of bad weather but would be conducted by Tuesday.

The one-day, live-fire drills are to be held on Yeonpyeong Island near the tense sea border with North Korea.

North Korea has warned that if the South goes ahead anyway, it will strike back even harder than in the November 23 attack that killed four people.

Meanwhile, North Korean defectors have launched propaganda flyers into the North from Yeonpyeong Island.

They released balloons with 200,000 leaflets, and one thousand US dollar bills. The pamphlets condemned the North's shelling of the island and the potential succession of Kim Jong-il's youngest son as leader.

Deadly force

North Korea ramped up the tensions on Friday with its warning of....

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wikileaks: US monitors 'aggressive' China in Africa

Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping in South Africa. 18 Nov 2010

The Forum on China-Africa Co-operation recently celebrated its 10th anniversary

Wikileaks Revelations

The US is closely monitoring China's expanding role in Africa, the latest secret US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks reveal.

A cable from February quotes a senior US official in the Nigerian capital, Lagos, describing China as "aggressive and pernicious".

However, the official says the US does not consider China a military, security or intelligence threat.

Wikileaks has so far released more than 1,100 of 251,000 secret US cables.

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent says the latest documents provide a fascinating insight into Washington's rivalry with Beijing in Africa.

The cable, published by the Guardian newspaper, quotes Johnnie Carson, US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, who had been meeting oil company representatives in Lagos.

He describes China as "a very aggressive and....

Wikileaks: Australia FM blames US

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Kevin Rudd, Australian foreign minister: "US personnel responsible for cable leak"

Australia's foreign minister has said the US is to blame for the release of thousands of diplomatic cables on Wikileaks, not its Australian founder, Julian Assange.

Kevin Rudd said the release raised questions about US security.

Mr Rudd said he did not "give a damn" about criticism of him in the cables.

Mr Assange, arrested in the UK over sex crime allegations in Sweden, has accused the Australian government of "disgraceful pandering" to the US.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard had earlier called Mr Assange's release of the cables "grossly irresponsible".

Over the past two weeks, Wikileaks has released thousands of classified messages from US envoys around the world, from more than 250,000 it has been given.

Washington has called their.....

Wikileaks cables show Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang details

Mr Xi - expected to be China's next president - spoke of a love of US war films

US diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks have revealed more about the attitudes and concerns of the two men expected to lead China from 2012.

Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang - tipped as China's next president and premier - had separate dinners with US Ambassador Clark Randt in March 2007.

Both spoke proudly of economic advances in their respective regions.

Mr Xi was revealed as a US war film fan, while Mr Li said residents' biggest worry was corruption.

At that time Mr Xi was Communist Party secretary in Zhejiang province and Mr Li held the same position in Liaoning.

Both are now members of the nine-strong Politburo Standing Committee and are widely seen as China's leaders-in-waiting.

According to one cable, Xi Jinping had a "frank and friendly" conversation with Mr Randt, much of which focused on economic development in Zhejiang.

Residents were most concerned about education, affordable housing and healthcare, Mr Xi reportedly said, and also about "the working style of government and.....

Friday, December 31, 2010

Thursday, December 30, 2010

FLU OUTBREAK

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Monday, December 20, 2010

Saturday, December 18, 2010

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010