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30 killed, 20 hurt in attacks in Iraq
12 rebels killed in Aceh violence
Nepal bans criticism of armed forces
Pakistan to strengthen strategic systems
Spain opens door for illegal migrants
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Prisoner’s rising IQ could lead him back to death row
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30 killed, 20 hurt in attacks in Iraq
Mosul, February 7 Three other persons died in a mortar attack on a Mosul police station. In Mosul, a suicide bomber blew himself up among a group of policemen inside a hospital compound, killing 12 policemen and injuring four others, hospital officials said. An Al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility. A car bomb exploded outside the protective blast barriers of a provincial police headquarters in the city of Baqouba, killing 15 persons and wounding 17, police Col. Mudhahar al-Jubouri said. Many of the victims were there to seek jobs as policemen, al-Jubouri said. The Mosul attack occurred at the city's Jumhouri Teaching Hospital, hospital director Tahseen Ali Mahmoud al-Obeidi said. Witnesses said the bomber called the police officers over to him and then blew up among the crowd. "I heard an explosion. When I went to check, I saw bodies everywhere," al-Obeidi said. The ground was soaked with blood. Nurses collected pieces of flesh and body part, putting them in bags. In a posting on website, the Al-Qaida group in Iraq, led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said "a lion from the Martyrs Brigade" wearing an explosives belt managed to get inside a police post at the Mosul
hospital. The claim could not be verified. There was no claim for the Baqouba attack.
—AP |
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12 rebels killed in Aceh violence
Jakarta, February 7 Five members of the Free Aceh Movement were shot dead in a gunbattle this morning in Lhoksukun, about 250 km east of Banda Aceh, witnesses said. Three villagers — an 8-year-old boy, 3-year-old girl and a 70-year-old woman — were hit by stray bullets after troops raided a suspected rebel hide out in nearby village of Blang. A day earlier, seven rebels were killed in Bireun District, a rebel stronghold about 160 km east of the capital Banda Aceh, Asnawi said.
— AP |
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Nepal bans criticism of armed forces
Kathmandu, February 7 The new regime also announced its plan to set up a committee to hold unconditional talks with rebels, who are fighting to topple the multiparty democracy and have denounced King Gyanendra’s action seizing power, describing him a “national betrayer.” A government notification broadcast on state media said any public comments made “directly or indirectly” about security forces “that is likely to have negative impact” have been banned and violators could be
arrested. Since the imposition of censorship after the seizure of power on February 1, some newspapers here have been criticising the King in a subtle manner. One such editorial in Nepali Times weekly says about trees being cut down, a clever metaphor for a gagged press. The article goes on to say how trees allow people to breathe freely, and how their roots hold the soil together and the need to “bring back greenery”. Banning political activities by public servants, the government said it could seize private property when necessary. The notification also said the security forces could monitor telephone, fax, radio and e-mails and other forms of electronic communication and block them when necessary. The government, however, eased a ban on public gatherings imposed since February 1, but placed strict controls on them. —
PTI |
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Pakistan to strengthen strategic systems
Washington, February 7 According to these sources, since the signing of the $ 3 billion aid package at the US presidential resort at Camp David two years ago, Pakistan and the USA have been engaged in intensive discussions over US assistance to strengthen Pakistan's defence capabilities. "But contrary to the general belief, at these talks Pakistan never said it wishes to match India's conventional arsenal," said a source privy to these talks. "They realise that they cannot compete with India in conventional weapons and they do not need to". The sources explained that since the May 1998 nuclear tests, Pakistan has developed a new defence strategy of meeting the Indian threat with the help of "strategic systems, not conventional weapons". They said that the decision to acquire eight P-3 Orion reconnaissance planes from the USA was part of this strategy. The planes would help Pakistan prevent a possible naval blockade of Karachi, which India had successfully enforced during the 1971 war. "The Orions can warn you that ships are coming and you can launch your submarines and aim your missiles," said a defence expert. "This will blunt the huge strategic advantage India had in 1971". The sources explained that while Pakistan would still like to acquire F-16 aircraft from the USA, "those are not the only weapons Pakistanis are focusing on," said the defence expert. In the 1980s, when Pakistan acquired the first batch of F-16s, Islamabad needed a delivery system for its strategic weapons but since 1998 it has developed an alternative delivery system and is not dependent on the aircraft, the sources said. They pointed out that during the past six years, Pakistan has regularly tested several medium and short-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads and is satisfied that it possesses a reliable weapon-delivery system. But despite this satisfaction, Pakistan still wants F-16s because it needs an effective air force and the restrictions imposed on it in the 1990s has greatly depleted its air power. Pakistan wants the F-16s also because it is familiar with the system and has developed an infrastructure that includes trained pilots and maintenance and servicing facilities. If it acquires another set of similar aircraft, it will not have to rebuild a new infrastructure which will be costly and time consuming. But the experts said that the recently concluded meeting of the US-Pakistan Defence Consultative Group in Islamabad was not the appropriate forum for discussing Islamabad's desire for buying the F-16s. "Although this issue must have been raised, this was not the focus," said a diplomatic source. |
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Spain opens door for illegal migrants
Madrid, February 7 Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government says the amnesty will allow it to manage migration. However, its assurances have done nothing to quell the controversy. Spain is the main gateway to Europe for illegal immigrants. An estimated 8,00,000 migrants live in the country illegally, but there is no way to know how many will benefit from the amnesty. The scale of the problem was underlined on Saturday when Spanish authorities rescued 227 African would-be migrants from a decrepit fishing boat drifting off the Canary Islands. Jose Manuel Soria, head of the local authority in the island of Gran Canaria, wrote in the conservative ABC newspaper yesterday that the incident showed the drawing power of the amnesty offer — even though new arrivals cannot qualify. ''The irresponsible announcement of papers for everyone redoubles the risk and the ingenuity of the clandestine expeditions,'' said Soria, a member of the opposition Popular Party which has roundly criticised the amnesty. The amnesty is an attempt to recognise those thousands of migrants who are already working illegally without paying taxes or joining the social security system. It is also underpinned by a desire to keep a closer eye on foreigners after the Al-Qaida-linked bombings that killed 191 persons on March 11 last year. Most of the Islamic militants accused of carrying out the attacks were born in Morocco and many of the victims were also immigrants. To qualify, migrants must have an identity document, prove they were in Spain before last August, have a job contract for at least next six months and have no criminal record. Some 160 Social Security offices throughout Spain will open in the evening for the next three months to accept applications for residence and work permits, the government said yesterday.
— Reuters |
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Prisoner’s rising IQ could lead him back to death row
A prisoner who won a landmark case in which the US Supreme Court ruled that mentally retarded prisoners could not be executed could find himself back on death row because his IQ has improved as a result of working on his defence.
In an extraordinary reversal of his fortunes, Darryl Atkins, will return to court later this year where a jury will decide whether he is officially retarded. If the court decides he is not, Atkins (27) could be executed by lethal injection — effectively because of his work which resulted in other mentally retarded prisoners being spared. When Atkins' IQ was tested in 1998 it was found to stand at 59. But when it was tested more recently, Atkins scored as high as 76. The cut-off point in Virginia, the level at which the state differentiates between someone who is retarded and not retarded, is 70. A report about Atkins recently completely by psychologist Evan Nelson, who was hired by the defence, said: "Oddly enough, because of his constant contact with the many lawyers that worked on his case Mr Atkins received more intellectual stimulation in prison than he did during his late adolescence and early adulthood. That included practicing his reading and writing skills, learning about abstract legal concepts and communicating with professionals." Atkins' defence lawyers argued last week before a court hearing in Yorktown that his IQ at the age of 18 — when he committed the crime for which he was sentenced to death — was much lower. It was unfair, they argued, to judge him according to his current mental competence than by his situation when he was convicted. Atkins was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1996 abduction and murder of 21-year-old Eric Nesbitt, who he and another man seized. In 2002 the Supreme Court saved Atkins when it ruled 6-3 that the execution of retarded prisoners was unconstitutional because it breached the 8th Amendment which prohibits "cruel and unusual" punishments. Dozens of mentally retarded prisoners were released from death row as a result. By arrangement with
The Independent |
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