|
By Crispin Thorold
BBC News, Baghdad |
|
The Iranian president is due in India next week
|
India has rebuffed a call by the United States for it to ask Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.
The foreign ministry said neither India nor Iran needed external guidance on how to conduct bilateral relations.
It said relations between the two spanned centuries, and they were capable of handling them with due care.
Earlier, a senior US official said Washington would welcome India telling Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to curtail Tehran's nuclear programme.
President Ahmadinejad is due to visit Delhi next week. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7362177.stm>
|
Al-Qaeda regularly posts audio and video tapes on the internet
|
Al-Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has blamed Iran for spreading the theory that Israel was behind the 11 September 2001 attacks.
In an audio tape posted on the internet, Zawahiri insisted al-Qaeda had carried out the attacks on the US.
He accused Iran, and its Hezbollah allies, of trying to discredit Osama Bin Laden's network.
Correspondents say the comments underline al-Qaeda's increasing public hostility towards Iran.
In a two-hour audiotape posted on an Islamist website, Osama Bin Laden's chief deputy responded to questions posted by al-Qaeda sympathisers.
In response to a question about persistent rumours in the Middle East that Israel was involved in the 9/11 attacks, Zawahiri said the rumour had begun on the Hezbollah television station, Al-Manar.
"The purpose of this lie is clear - [to suggest] that there are no heroes among the Sunnis who can hurt America as no-one else did in history, he said.
"Iranian media snapped up this lie and repeated it." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7361414.stm>
|
Mr Kadish was an engineer at the US army's Armament Research Centre
|
A military engineer has appeared in court in the US on charges of passing classified information to Israel.
Ben-Ami Kadish is alleged to have given secrets involving information about nuclear weapons, fighter jets and missiles to Israel in the 1980s.
He was charged with four counts of conspiracy, including disclosing documents relating to national defence and acting as an agent of Israel.
He declined to comment on leaving the Manhattan courthouse.
"I'm not saying anything. I have no comment," said Mr Kadish, 84, who worked at the US army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Centre in New Jersey from 1979 to 1985.
He was released on bail of $300,000 and restrictions were placed on his travel.
US state department spokesman Tom Casey discusses the charges
Mr Kadish is accused of giving the material to an Israeli consular official.
His alleged handler has been named by justice officials as the former consul for science affairs at the Israeli Consulate General in Manhattan, reportedly the same person who dealt with Jonathan Jay Pollard, who is serving life in prison for spying for Israel.
Pollard passed thousands of documents to Israeli agents while working at the US defence department. He was convicted in 1987.
The Israeli government publicly admitted in 1998 that Pollard had been their agent and awarded him Israeli citizenship. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7361446.stm>
|
By Crispin Thorold
BBC News, Baghdad |
|
Significant numbers of UK and US troops are supporting the Iraqi military
|
From the beginning, the US government has characterised the operations against Shia militias in Basra and Baghdad as an Iraqi-led and executed campaign.
It is now clear that although the initial military planning was Iraqi, US and British forces are deeply involved.
In the capital's neighbourhood of Sadr City, US infantry troops are fighting alongside Iraqi soldiers, to try to secure areas that were once firmly under the hold of the Mehdi Army, which is loyal to the Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr.
Reports suggest that US combat units have also been deployed at short notice to Basra from elsewhere in Iraq and the Middle East.
On Monday, a US convoy in the southern city was attacked. A spokesman for the US-led coalition confirmed the bombing, but would give no further details.
 |
While improved, Iraqi security forces are not yet ready to defend Iraq or maintain security throughout the country on their own
 Gen David Petraeus
US military commander in Iraq |
A Western military source has also told the BBC that significant numbers of UK and US special forces are in Basra, acting both independently and in support of Iraqi army units.
Much of the work that the Western special forces are doing is "mentoring and encouraging" their Iraqi counterparts, the source said.
However, it is believed that they are also carrying out operations to detain "high-value individuals" from the Mehdi Army, other militias and local tribes.
According to the source, the special forces personnel are also gathering intelligence to support ground operations. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7360634.stm>
Zimbabwe's opposition says the government is "waging war" on its supporters in rural areas, while the churches warn of a possible genocide if violence continues ahead of a possible run-off election.
But the government says the scale of the violence has been exaggerated.
Here, BBC contributors say they have come across credible
reports of intimidation and violence but not anything amounting to
"war" or "genocide". Their names have been changed, as they do not have
official accreditation. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7361031.stm>
|
Recent supplies of fuel from Israel have been sporadic
|
The United Nations says that it is being forced to suspend its humanitarian work in Gaza because of the Israeli fuel blockade.
A UN official says food aid to 650,000 refugees and the collection of sewage will have to stop on Thursday if Israel does not allow in more vehicle fuel.
The UN Security Council met to discuss the crisis, but Western representatives walked out over comments from Libya.
They objected to the Libyan delegate likening Gaza to a Nazi death camp.
Among the diplomats to leave the UN chamber in New York were representatives of the United States, Britain, France and Belgium.
The remarks comparing the situation in Gaza to the Nazi Holocaust of World War II were made by the Libyan ambassador to the UN, Giadalla Ettalhi.
"A number of Council members were dismayed by the approach taken by Libya and do not believe that such language helps advance the peace process," British official Karen Pierce said of the rare protest.
Libya is sponsoring a draft statement expressing concern at the humanitarian situation in Gaza. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7364172.stm>
"It's
something that we've been warning about since early April, and that is
what is so tragic," John Ging, head of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip, told Al
Jazeera.
"Now we're at a standstill - we just don't have the fuel to operate the trucks.
"We have the food, and we certainly have hundreds of thousands of desperate people who need it. But this is the situation tonight."
|
"The key condition for this ceasefire is that Israel should
re-open all the crossings ... to lift the embargo on the Palestinian
people"
Ghazi Hamad, Hamas spokesman |
|
By David Goldblatt
BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents |
Beitar Jerusalem may be top of the Israeli football league but the behaviour of its hard core fans is casting a shadow over their success.
|
Beitar fans awaiting the start of a game in Nazareth
|
It is half-time in an Israeli cup match between Ahi Nazareth and Beitar Jerusalem.
The atmosphere at the game is tense and the police presence is huge and heavily armed.
The former is the team of the largest Arab town in Israel. The latter has been the standard bearer of the political right in Israeli football for 70 years.
Once, when Israel was ruled by the Labor party and the trade unions, Beitar Jerusalem was the small team of the marginal and excluded. Now it is the most powerful club in the country, with the most volatile and extreme fans. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/7362791.stm>
By Maggie Shiels
Technology reporter, BBC News, San Francisco
Developers have questioned the commitment to openness in Microsoft's
Live Mesh service, which is designed to bridge the offline and online
worlds.
The company's new service, that will synch all of a user's devices and
applications to produce a seamless framework, was unveiled at Web 2.0.
Microsoft has said the service will use open standards and be rolled out to Windows machines, Macs and mobiles.
But developers at the conference said they needed more detail about openness.
"I have just seen the cookie cutter slide show, " says start up
entrepreneur Ola Agayi "and it has promise but I haven't had the chance
to play around with it. It's certainly an interesting concept."
Developer JC Herz, of BatchTags, said she was worried about openness
and Microsoft's role in controlling so much of people's information.
"It's what they have always been trying to do which is own the pie. I
think the main thing with Live Mesh is to benchmark all the talk about
"open".
"The great thing about openness is that is something that is very easy to verify which is different from 10 or 20 years ago."
She added: "The proof is in the pudding but at the moment it's all demo ware and advertising."
The fact that Live Mesh is not available on Mac at launch was not
missed by many in the audience who commented on the fact that the slide
show included an Apple icon. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7362144.stm>
|
By Kathryn Westcott
BBC News |
The waters off the coast of Somalia have become some of the most treacherous in the world - swarming with well-armed pirates, searching for prey to hold to ransom.
|
Pirates demanded a $2m ransom for the crew of Le Ponant
|
Attacks on fishing boats, cargo ships and yachts have surged, but these modern-day buccaneers may not continue to get their way.
The world's navies could be about to get tough.
France and the US are drafting a UN Security Council resolution that would authorise countries to chase and seize pirates when they flee into territorial waters, and could lead to an increase in patrols.
The move comes in the wake of a dramatic helicopter raid by French commandos earlier this month on Somali pirates who had just released 30 hostages on a luxury yacht for a ransom believed to be $2m (£1m; 1.3m euros). <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7358764.stm>
|
Ms Rice said there should be no question as to Georgia's integrity
|
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has assured Georgia that the US is firmly committed to supporting the country's sovereignty.
Georgia says Russian moves to forge closer ties with two of its breakaway regions threaten its sovereignty.
The row between the two neighbours will be discussed at a closed-door session of the UN Security Council.
After meeting Georgia's foreign minister, Ms Rice said the US was "very concerned" by Russia's actions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision last week to order closer links between Russia and Georgia's two breakaway regions - Abkhazia and South Ossetia - prompted outrage in Tbilisi. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7362480.stm>
|
By Darren Waters
Technology editor, BBC News website |
|
Professor Jonathan Zittrain Photo credit: Joi Ito
|
With the second billion of the planet's citizens due to go online in the next 10 years and an avalanche of online-enabled devices hitting the market with each passing year it would be understandable to assume that the internet is in a healthy position.
The 1960s vision of a network of networks has grown into a tool that encircles the globe, drives economies and connects citizens.
But Professor Jonathan Zittrain, one of the world's leading academics on the impact of the net, is warning that the future is potentially bleak.
His book, The Future of the Internet: And How To Stop It, highlights key concerns about the direction online society is heading in.
"I want a recognition from people that the network they enjoy now is in many important respects a collective hallucination," he said.
"If too many of them start treating it as a cash and carry service they are going get the network they deserve."
Zittrain is the professor of internet governance and regulation at Oxford University and co-founder of Harvard Law School's Berman Center for Internet and Society.
He said the "happy accident" of the net, which was designed by researchers for researchers, resulted in an open platform which facilitated innovation because it enabled anyone online to implement ideas at the edge of the network.
He calls these technologies "generative", meaning open tools that can be put to a multiplicity of purposes. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7364901.stm>
The octogenarian Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.
Your Views
Frazer was responding to questions about whether some kind of power-sharing agreement could resolve the impasse.
"We think in this situation we have a clear victor," she said. "Morgan Tsvangirai won and perhaps outright, at which point you don't need a government of national unity. You have to accept the result."
But she added: "There may need to be a political solution, a negotiated solution."
<http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7984AC75-6E72-468A-A612-144F14FA2A59.htm>
|
The Gaza Strip has been a focus for recent violence
|
Former Palestinian foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar said the truce must be mutual and include the lifting of an Israeli blockade of Gaza.
He gave the proposals to Egyptian negotiators, who were expected to pass them on to Israel.
Israeli officials said they were sceptical about the chances of a truce.
Hamas described the proposed truce as a "period of quiet".
Israel said it was ready for "quiet" on its border with Gaza, but has demanded a stop to rocket attacks against Israelis and weapon smuggling into the coastal strip.
"We can't have a period of quiet that will just be the quiet before the storm," said Israeli spokesman Mark Regev. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7366166.stm>
The United States has accused North Korea of helping Syria build a nuclear reactor that "was not intended for peaceful purposes".
The site, said to be like one in North Korea, was bombed by Israel in 2007.
Syria must "come clean" about its secret nuclear programme, the White House said in a statement after CIA officials briefed members of Congress.
Syria has repeated denials that it has any nuclear weapons programme, or any such agreement with North Korea.
|
The construction of this reactor was a dangerous and potentially destabilising development for the region and the world
White House statement
 |
But the White House said the "cover-up" operation that Syria carried out after the Israeli air strike reinforced the belief that the reactor "was not intended for peaceful activities".
"Until 6 September, 2007, the Syrian regime was building a covert nuclear reactor in its eastern desert capable of producing plutonium," the statement said.
"The Syrian regime must come clean before the world regarding its illicit nuclear activities."
The statement added that the US had long been "seriously concerned about North Korea's nuclear weapons programme and its proliferation activities".
But the White House insists it is committed to the on-going six-nation
diplomacy, between North Korea and US, China, Japan, South Korea and
Russia that led to a landmark deal with Pyongyang, in February 2007. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7364269.stm>
|
China says several plots have already been foiled
|
There is a "real possibility" that the Beijing Olympics will be attacked by terrorists, the head of global police body Interpol has warned.
Speaking in Beijing, Ronald Noble said the Games could give "easy cover" to groups such as al-Qaeda.
He also warned that protesters who have disrupted the Olympic torch relay might also target this summer's Games.
China claims to have foiled several plots to attack the Olympics by Muslim separatists from Xinjiang province.
Mr Noble told a security conference in the Chinese capital: "Based on
reports of thwarted plots in the Chinese media, including an attempt to
bring down an airliner headed to Beijing, it seems clear that the
threat has increased." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7366627.stm>
|
Ngawang Tenzin Jangpo is a revered figure of Tibetan Buddhism
|
A religious leader in Nepal's Everest region has criticised security measures ahead of the Olympic torch's arrival on top of the world's highest mountain.
Ngawang Tenzin Jangpo told the BBC that the government had gone too far in the precautions it was taking before the torch arrives at the summit.
Nepal says it will use force to prevent anti-Beijing protests during the Olympic torch relay up Mount Everest.
The torch is scheduled to be brought up from the Chinese side in early May.
Nepal is determined to prevent protests which may damage relations with China.
Ngawang Tenzin Jangpo, the Rinpoche or Reincarnate, of Tengboche
Monastery, is the man from whom Nepalese and foreign climbers of
mountains in the region traditionally seek a Buddhist blessing. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7366311.stm>
|
BY M Ilyas Khan
BBC News, Karachi |
|
The new government is trying to reach out to the militants
|
When Pakistan's new Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani made his inaugural address to parliament last month he said his government was "ready to talk to all those people who give up arms and are ready to embrace peace".
Now the country's most feared militant commander, Baitullah Mehsud, has called a truce with the government amid reports of an impending peace deal.
The truce call came shortly after the government released from prison a prominent pro-Taleban cleric who has led insurgencies in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Baitullah Mehsud heads a loose grouping of tribal militants called the Pakistani Taleban Movement.
He had been formally charged by the previous government with the
murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who was killed in a
suicide attack in December. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7366305.stm>
At least two people have been killed and 11 were hurt in an attack on a military parade in Kabul attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Security forces whisked Mr Karzai and other dignitaries away and hundreds fled as shots rang out. Two MPs were reported to be among the wounded.
The parade was a celebration to mark 16 years since the overthrow of the country's Soviet-backed rule.
A spokesman for the Taleban said the movement had carried out the attack.
|
The attack caused panic among troops at the tightly guarded event
|
He said they had not targeted Mr Karzai directly, but wanted to show how easily they could get access to such events.
The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says the fact that they were able to get so close despite such tight security is worrying for both the government and the international community.
The Taleban spokesman said six militants had been deployed near the parade with suicide vests and guns. Three of them were killed and the other three arrested, he added.
In a live TV address after the incident, Mr Karzai confirmed that there had been arrests.
|
I
saw an explosion and a puff of dust to the left of the parade and then
heard the crackle of small arms fire from all directions
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles
UK ambassador |
"Fortunately Afghan security forces quickly surrounded them," he said. "Some of them were captured."
"Everything is calm, rest assured."
Mr Karzai has frequently been the target of assassination attempts in recent years.
Later UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown phoned Mr Karzai to express
his relief that he was safe and reaffirm his support for the Afghan
government. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7369540.stm
|
The FNI militia is accused of carrying out massacres of villagers in DR Congo
|
The UN has covered up claims that its troops in Democratic Republic of Congo gave arms to militias and smuggled gold and ivory, the BBC has learned.
The allegations, based on confidential UN sources, involve Pakistani and Indian troops working as peacekeepers.
The UN investigated some of the claims in 2007, but said it could not substantiate claims of arms dealing.
UN insiders told the BBC's Panorama they had been prevented from pursuing their inquiries for political reasons.
Gold and ivory
The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monuc) is the global body's largest, with 17,000 troops spread across the country.
|
It's true they did, give us arms. They said it was for the security of the country
'Kung-fu'
FNI leader |
The BBC's Martin Plaut, who returned to DR Congo to follow up his initial investigation into the allegations, says they have managed to bring a measure of stability since they were first established by the UN in February 2000.
They have also helped disarm the warring factions, run democratic elections and assisted with reconstruction.
But an 18-month BBC investigation for Panorama has found evidence that:
- Pakistani peacekeepers in the eastern town of Mongbwalu were involved in the illegal trade in gold with the FNI militia, providing them with weapons to guard the perimeter of the mines
- Indian peacekeepers operating around the town of Goma had direct dealings with the militia responsible for the Rwandan genocide, now living in eastern DR Congo
- The Indians traded gold, bought drugs from the militias and flew a UN helicopter into the Virunga National Park, where they exchanged ammunition for ivory
The UN looked into the allegations concerning the Pakistani troops in 2007.
It concluded that one officer had been responsible for dealing in gold - allowing traders to use UN aircraft to fly into the town, putting them up at the UN base and taking them around the town.
But the UN decided that "in the absence of corroborative evidence" its investigators "could not substantiate the allegation" that Pakistani peacekeepers supplied weapons or ammunition to the militia.
It did, however, identify "an individual who seemed to have facilitated gold smuggling". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7365283.stm>
|
By Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter, BBC News |
|
The government has made headlines for data failures
|
Plans for a super-database containing the details of all phone calls and e-mails sent in the UK have been heavily criticised by experts.
The government is considering the changes as part of its ongoing fight against serious crime and terrorism.
Assistant Information Commissioner Jonathan Bamford has warned that the UK could be "sleepwalking into a surveillance society".
Others have questioned how such a database could be made secure.
Public confidence
"While the public is "sleepwalking" into a surveillance society, the government seems to have its eyes wide open although, unfortunately, to everything except security," said Jamie Cowper, data protection expert at data protection firm PGP Corporation.
"The bottom line is - information of this nature should only be held if - and only if - it can be demonstrated that an appropriate system of checks and balances is in place and the security of the information being stored is of paramount concern," he added.
Public confidence in the governments' ability to look after data has been dented in recent months with high profile failures, including the loss of a CD carrying all the personal details of every child benefit claimant.
The latest plans being mulled by the Home Office will form part of the proposed Communications Bill, which is due to be considered by MPs later this year.
It is, said a Home Office spokesman, crucial "to ensure that
public authorities have access to communications data essential for
counter-terrorism and investigation of crime purposes." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7410885.stm>
|
Georgia said its pictures showed a MiG approaching the drone
|
A Russian jet did shoot down an unmanned Georgian drone over the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia last month, UN monitors say.
The jet flew back into Russian airspace after the attack, a UN report says.
Russia has denied the charges - even though Georgia's defence ministry released video appearing to show a Russian MiG-29 shooting down the drone.
Tensions over Abkhazia have soared, with Georgia and Russia accusing each other of a military build-up.
Moscow accuses Georgia of preparing to invade its breakaway region, where many residents hold Russian passports.
Georgia says Russia is preparing to annex the region.
Georgia's air force commander shows footage that allegedly shows a Russian aircraft shooting down the Georgian plane
Georgia accused Moscow of an "act of international aggression" after the drone was shot down on 20 April.
It released video, which it said was recorded by the drone itself, of a fighter plane approaching it and then launching a missile in its direction. The picture then went dead.
A Russian air force spokesman said the claim was "nonsense", while Abkhaz rebels said they had downed the drone.
They have since claimed to have shot down several more.
But a report by UN monitors based in Abkhazia, released on Monday, said radar records showed the plane had flown into Russian airspace after the attack, and with no "compelling evidence to the contrary, this leads to the conclusion that the aircraft belonged to the Russian air force".
However, the report also criticised Georgia for operating
reconnaissance flights over Abkhazia, which it said breached the terms
of the ceasefire deal that ended the Abkhaz war of the early 1990s. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7420130.stm>
|
A call by Mr Barak (left) is a damaging blow to Mr Olmert, correspondents say
|
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he will stay in office despite a call by a key ally to take a leave of absence or quit over corruption claims.
"I am not going to give up," Mr Olmert said in Jerusalem.
He was speaking after Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned he would take his Labour Party out of Mr Olmert's ruling coalition if he did not step down.
Mr Olmert denies claims that he took up to $500,000 (£250,000) in bribes or illegal campaign donations.
"I am going to continue to exercise my functions," Mr Olmert said at a meeting with representatives of Israeli communities situated close to the Gaza Strip.
"Some people think that each time an investigation is launched it has to lead to a resignation. But I don't share that opinion," he said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7424804.stm>