12 missing in Russian military cargo jet crash

Photo illustration of Russian pilots boarding an Antonov cargo plane. A giant Antonov cargo plane crashed during a training exercise in central Russia, leaving all 12 military pilots aboard the aircraft missing and presumed dead, officials said on Wednesday.

AFP - A giant Antonov cargo plane crashed during a training exercise in central Russia, leaving all 12 military pilots aboard the aircraft missing and presumed dead, officials said on Wednesday.

The An-22 military plane carrying the servicemen but no cargo had been performing a training exercise on its way from Voronezh to Tver in central Russia when it disappeared from radar screens late Tuesday, said a spokeswoman for military prosecutors of the Moscow military district.

Its scattered remains were found early Wednesday in a field four kilometres from the village of Troitskoye in the Tula region, with the impact of the crash leaving a five-metre-deep crater in the ground, spokeswoman Natalya Zemskova told AFP.

"All those aboard died," the Moscow-based investigators said in a separate statement, adding local witnesses heard an explosion.

Zemskova said however that the pilots were presumed dead because officials were still looking for their bodies.

Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the defence minister, said bad weather at the scene was hampering search efforts. "It's a blizzard and snowing," he said in televised remarks.

Dating back to the Soviet era, Antonov An-22 is a military cargo turboprop plane and is among the world's largest aircraft.

Authorities opened a criminal probe into the accident, said Zemskova, adding however it was too early to say what caused the crash.

Accidents involving military aircraft are relatively common in Russia.

Last year, another Russian military plane, a Tupolev Tu-142, crashed into the sea during a training exercise in Russia's Far East, leaving all 11 crew members missing and presumed dead.

S.Korea says N.Korea nuclear talks should be revived

South Korean policemen wear gas masks during a civil defence drill near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. Former US defence chief William Perry said North Korea was capable of producing one nuclear bomb a year and that Washington should consider high-level talks to defuse tension, in an interview published Wednesday.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, pictured, has called for revived international talks to shut down North Korea's nuclear programme, apparently softening his stance towards negotiations.

A South Korean veteran takes part in a protest against North Korea's hardline communist leadership in Seoul. Last month the secretive state disclosed a uranium enrichment plant to visiting US experts with officials saying it could easily be converted to produce weapons-grade uranium, giving the North a second way to build a bomb.

A US Navy controller sits in front of a radar screen on board a havily fortified naval vessel. A North Korean MiG fighter disappeared off radar screens last week as the impoverished communist state held unusually extensive winter flight drills, the Korea JoongAng Daily said, quoting a military source.

AFP - South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak called Wednesday for new international talks with North Korea on shutting down its nuclear programme, apparently softening his stance towards the negotiations.

"(We) have no choice but to resolve the problem of dismantling North Korea's nuclear programme diplomatically through the six-party talks," Lee said of the discussions, which began in 2003 and have been stalled for two years.

Lee has taken a tough line with the North since its deadly bombardment last month of a South Korean border island, which caused outrage in Seoul.

His government, along with the United States and Japan, has been cool in response to efforts by Russia and China to resuscitate the six-party forum in an attempt to ease high tensions.

Seoul and its allies say the North must first mend ties with the South and show sincerity about denuclearisation.

The president said the international community is pressed for time because the North has set 2012 -- the centenary of the birth of founder Kim Il-Sung -- as the year to become a "great, powerful and prosperous" nation.

Because of this goal, we "must certainly achieve the dismantlement of its nuclear programme next year", Lee said.

The South also accuses the North of sinking one of its warships in March near the disputed Yellow Sea border, a charge Pyongyang denies.

Since the island shelling, Seoul has staged a series of military drills and vowed to hit back hard using air power against any new attack.

Lee, however, also called for cross-border dialogue.

"We should make efforts to have peace settled through inter-Korean dialogue" while also strengthening defences, he said, adding that reunification of the two Koreas is not "far off".

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan said the South is open to dialogue if the North agrees to discuss its nuclear programme in bilateral talks -- something it has always been unwilling to do.

"The window of opportunity for various channels of dialogue is open if North Korea acknowledges that the North and the South -- the direct parties concerned -- should discuss the nuclear issue," he told reporters.

Kim said the five nations negotiating with the North have not yet agreed on conditions for resuming the six-party forum.

His ministry, in a report to Lee, said policy in 2011 would focus on winning international support for peaceful reunification.

But it cautioned that the North's ongoing power succession from leader Kim Jong-Il to his youngest son, coupled with military brinkmanship, would continue to fan uncertainty on the peninsula.

Korea JoongAng Daily newspaper said the North had sharply increased its military drills this month, with a 150 percent rise over December 2009.

The North shut down its elderly plutonium-producing reactor in 2007 under a six-nation deal. It quit the forum in April 2009 and staged a second nuclear test a month later.

Last month it disclosed a uranium enrichment plant to visiting US experts. US officials and experts say this could easily be converted to produce weapons-grade uranium, giving the North a second way to build a bomb.

Pyongyang said Wednesday its new plant is designed solely to fuel a light-water reactor being built to produce energy.

"To ensure fuel supply to the reactor, a modern uranium enrichment plant equipped with thousands of centrifuges is in normal operation," ruling communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said.

According to US troubleshooter Bill Richardson, who visited Pyongyang this month, the North has offered to permit the return of UN nuclear inspectors and dispose of fuel rods outside the country.

The apparent concessions have not been officially announced.

NATO trucks attacked in Pakistan, driver killed

Pakistani onlookers watch a burning NATO oil tanker in Katakasht village near the town of Jamrud in Khyber tribal district on December 20. Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan attacked two NATO supply trucks early Wednesday, killing a driver and wounding two other people, officials said.

AFP - Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan attacked two NATO supply trucks early Wednesday, killing a driver and wounding two other people, officials said.

Half a dozen militants armed with assault rifles launched the attack in Landikotal, a town in Pakistan's tribal district of Khyber on the border with Afghanistan, the officials said.

Pakistani officials this month reported US drone strikes in Khyber, an apparent expansion of the covert drone programme previously confined to targeted Al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders elsewhere in the tribal belt.

"The militants started firing from the hilltop. A driver of one truck was killed on the spot, while his helper and another driver of another truck were injured," local administrative official Iqbal Khatak told AFP.

Intelligence officials said the militants fled after the attack, and confirmed that the trucks were carrying goods for NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistan shut its main northwestern border crossing to NATO supply vehicles on September 30 for 11 days after a cross-border NATO helicopter assault killed two Pakistani soldiers.

The bulk of supplies and equipment required by foreign troops in Afghanistan is shipped through Pakistan, although US troops increasingly use alternative routes through central Asia.

Scores of NATO supply vehicles were destroyed in gun and arson attacks while the border crossing was shut, with Taliban militants determined to disrupt the route and avenge US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal belt.

Israel rabbis wives warn on intermarriage: report

29 December 2010 - 09H34

File photo shows Jewish women praying at the Wailing Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in Old Jerusalem. At least 27 Israeli rabbis' wives have signed a letter calling on Jewish women to avoid intermarriage with Arabs and even avoid working alongside Arab men, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

File photo shows a Jewish Orthodox man walking past a shop selling Muslim head scarves for women in the Muslim quarter in Jerusalem's Old City. Rights groups have warned of a rising tide of anti-Arab sentiment in Israeli society.

AFP - At least 27 Israeli rabbis' wives have signed a letter calling on Jewish women to avoid intermarriage with Arabs and even avoid working alongside Arab men, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

The letter also warns Jewish women they risk falling under the sway of Arab men if they serve alongside them in Israel's national service.

"For your sake, for the sake of future generations, and so you don't undergo horrible suffering, we turn to you with a request, a plea, a prayer," said the text of the letter as quoted in media reports.

"Don't date non-Jews, don't work at places that non-Jews frequent, and don't do national service with non-Jews."

The letter accuses Arab men of using Jewish names to deceive unsuspecting women, and warns a life of "curses, beatings and humiliations" awaits them if they date or marry an Arab.

"There are quite a few Arab workers who use Hebrew names. Yusuf becomes Yossi, Samir becomes Sami and Abed becomes Ami," the letter was quoted as saying.

"They ask to be close to you, try to find favour with you, and give you all the attention in the world... but their behaviour is only temporary. The moment you are in their hands, in their village, under their control, everything changes.

"Your life will never go back to the way it was, and the attention you so desired will turn into curses, beatings, and humiliations," the letter warns.

Among the signatories to the letter are the wives and daughters of senior rabbis, including the daughter of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual head of the ultra-Orthodox party Shas, which is part of Israel's coalition government.

The letter is reportedly being distributed by a group called Lehava (Flames), an organisation that seeks to prevent Jewish assimilation and says it draws inspiration from the legacy of anti-Arab rabbi Meir Kahana.

Kahana, who was assassinated in New York in 1990, led the Kach movement, which promoted an extreme right-wing racism against Arabs that led to it being banned in Israel in 1994.

The letter comes as rights groups warn of a rising tide of anti-Arab sentiment in Israeli society.

In recent weeks, about 300 rabbis have signed a letter calling on Jews to avoid renting or selling property to non-Jews, and right-wing groups have staged demonstrations warning Jews against fraternising with Arabs.

The rabbis' letter drew widespread condemnation, including from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but a poll published on Tuesday showed Israelis are evenly divided on the issue.

The survey, which had a margin of error of 4.5 percent, found 44 percent of Israeli Jews supported the rabbis' calls, while 48 percent were opposed.

Man City 'offer 35 mln euros for Dzeko'

29 December 2010 - 10H44

Manchester City have reportedly offered 35 million euros (29.8 million pounds) for Wolfsburg's Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko, pictured after scoring the first goal in a Bundesliga match against Mainz 05 in Wolfsburg in August

AFP - Manchester City have offered 35 million euros (29.8 million pounds, 45.9 million dollars) for Wolfsburg's Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko, Germany's Bild daily reported on Wednesday.

In what Bild said would be a record price for a Bundesliga player, the English club would pay the Germans 30 million euros for the 24-year-old plus five million euros more if City reach the Champions League.

The transfer could be finalised in time for City's crunch away clash at Arsenal on January 5, Bild added, without identifying a source.

The paper cited Wolfsburg's general manager Dieter Hoeness as declining to comment on what he called "speculation".

Wolfsburg are currently 13th in the table, having gone seven Bundesliga games without a win, putting their coach -- former England manager Steve McClaren -- under severe pressure.

Roberto Mancini's City, by contrast, are riding high, level on points with Manchester United at the top of the Premier League, although they are behind on goal difference and Sir Alex Ferguson's side have two games in hand.

Earlier this month, Dzeko, who is Wolfsburg's captain, refused to shake McClaren's hand when he was substituted after missing a crucial penalty in the 77th minute of a goalless draw with Werder Bremen.

Other top-rank European clubs have also been linked with the striker, including Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus as well as under-performing Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich.

Haiti grants OAS full access to disputed election results

Haiti's electoral authorities have granted the Organization of American States “unlimited access” to information concerning November’s disputed presidential election in the hope of validating contested results from the first round of the poll.

By News Wires (text)

AFP - Haiti has granted Organization of American States experts full access to verify the results of the country's disputed presidential election, a top OAS official told AFP on Tuesday.

Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) promised a recount of the November 28 election results after official results set off charges of fraud and rioting by angry supporters of a losing candidate.

President Rene Preval, accused of rigging the election in favor of his hand-picked candidate, has delayed the recount until after an OAS mission was in place to verify the results.

The Haitian government agreed on the terms of the mission's review late Monday, OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin told AFP.

"Technical experts will have unlimited access to information and facilities, (and) will be able to look into results sheets and the procedures followed in determining the outcome," Ramdin said.

A first OAS team of six experts is scheduled to fly to Haiti on Wednesday, Ramdin said.

"I'm not sure how long it will take," he said. "We want to be thorough, we want to make sure a good verification is done and at the same time we are also very aware of time limits."

The experts will write up a report that will be sent to the Haitian government and then to the OAS permanent council, he said.

The disputed results published earlier this month had former first lady Mirlande Manigat in the lead with 31 percent of the vote, followed by ruling party candidate Jude Celestin with 22 percent.

The two frontrunners were supposed to advance to a run-off scheduled for January 16, but the count was rejected by popular singer Michel Martelly, who trailed Celestin by less than 7,000 votes.

Martelly's supporters and others took to the streets after the results were announced, torching cars and government buildings and clashing with rival supporters and UN peacekeepers in violence that left at least five people dead.

Thousands of people were unable to vote in the chaotic first round, either because they were not on the register or they lacked identification papers lost in the January earthquake.

Haiti has been immersed in crisis since the earthquake, which killed 250,000 people and leveled the capital, leaving more than 1.3 million people homeless.

A cholera epidemic that broke out in October has added another layer of misery and uncertainty over the country's future.

President says street protests undermine Tunisian jobs

Longtime Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (photo) condemned recent protests on Tuesday, saying they threaten jobs by deterring investors and tourists. Clashes erupted this month after a man killed himself in protest at rising unemployment.

By News Wires (text)

REUTERS - President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali warned on Tuesday that violent protests were unacceptable and would hit jobs and tourism after protests by graduates demanding work and what they called an end to corruption.

Protests are rare in Tunisia, which has been run for 23 years by President Ben Ali and works closely with Western governments to combat al Qaeda militants, but have been gathering force in recent weeks.

The Tunis protest on Monday followed the deadly shooting by police of a jobless graduate in Bouziane, south of Tunis, last Friday. Around 1,000 people took part in the demonstration, called by independent trade union activists.

"The use of violence in the streets by a minority of extremists against the interests of their country is not acceptable," President Ben Ali said in a speech broadcast by Tunisian television, saying justice would prevail.

"It will have a negative impact on creating jobs," the president added. "It will discourage investors and tourists (to visit) which will hit jobs."

Clashes broke out earlier this month in the town of Sidi Bouzid after a man committed suicide in a protest about unemployment. The protests later spread to several neighbouring cities such as Sousse, Sfax and Meknassi.

The North African country attracts millions of holiday makers mainly from Europe and Arab countries every year.

Financial focus

Tunisia is a regional focus for financial institutions since it has announced a plan to complete current account convertibility of its dinar currency over the 2010-2012 period.

Tunisian police used batons on Monday to disperse the demonstration in Tunis, the first time a recent spate of protests has reached the capital.

The Tunisian government accused its opponents on Monday of manipulating the clashes at the weekend between police and young people in Sidi Bouzid to discredit the authorities.

Two witnesses told Reuters that rioting resumed late on Monday in Sidi Bouzid. A least one protester was killed during the clashes and several were injured.

Tunisia remains relatively prosperous compared to African peers but several international right groups say its government crushes dissent, an accusation it denies.