Israel troops shoot dead West Bank Palestinian

02 January 2011 - 13H42

Israeli soldiers stand guard. A senior Palestinian official has condemned the death of a man shot dead by Israeli troops at a West Bank checkpoint, calling it a "dangerous escalation".

AFP - Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, less than 48 hours after a female protester died after being tear-gassed.

Palestinian officials condemned the two deaths, calling them part of a "dangerous escalation" by Israel.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Mohammed Daraghmeh, in his early twenties, was killed at around 8:00 am (0600 GMT) at the Hamra checkpoint northeast of Nablus.

Initial media reports said Daraghmeh had tried to stab soldiers at the checkpoint -- a claim denied by Palestinian sources.

The Israeli military confirmed that Daraghmeh was not armed with a knife, but said he entered an unauthorised lane in the checkpoint and was believed to have been holding a bottle.

"He was holding a glass bottle and the soldiers were probably scared he was going to try to stab them," a military spokeswoman told AFP.

She could not confirm whether the bottle was broken, or if Daraghmeh had explicitly threatened the soldiers.

"He approached them, he was standing a few metres (yards) from them," she said. "They asked him to stop, he didn't answer."

The incident was under investigation, she added, and many details about the incident remained unclear, including how many soldiers opened fire.

Daraghmeh, from Tubas, north of Nablus, died at the checkpoint after sustaining bullet wounds to his chest, hand and leg, sources at the town's hospital where he was taken told AFP.

Palestinian security sources said Daraghmeh was attempting to pass through the checkpoint on his way to work at a West Bank settlement on Sunday morning and got into an altercation with troops when they refused him passage.

No soldiers were wounded in the incident, and the checkpoint was closed afterwards.

Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, condemned Daraghmeh's death, calling the incident a "dangerous escalation."

"The Israeli escalation in the last two days is aimed at demolishing any hope of a peace process, and we ask the US administration and the international community to take necessary steps to stop the dangerous escalation against the area," he told AFP.

Michelle Bubis, a spokeswoman for Israeli human rights group B'tselem, said the details of the incident were still unclear.

"B'tselem demands a military police investigation and is itself checking into the incident," she told AFP.

On Saturday evening, a Palestinian man was arrested by Israeli troops in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, south of Bethlehem, after reportedly trying to stab two female soldiers.

The Israeli military said no one was wounded in that incident.

Sunday's incident came less than 48 hours after the death of Jawaher Abu Rahma, a 36-year-old Palestinian woman who died after inhaling massive amounts of tear gas fired by the Israeli military at a West Bank demonstration.

Abu Rahma died in hospital overnight on Friday in the West Bank city of Ramallah after collapsing during a protest against the Israeli separation barrier in the nearby village of Bilin, hospital staff said.

The Israeli army said that an "investigation has been opened to determine the exact cause of death," and that it had "unsuccessfully contacted the Palestinian Authority to obtain a medical report."

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat on Saturday condemned Abu Rahma's death as an "Israeli war crime."

Stoning of Iran woman could be quashed: judiciary

02 January 2011 - 14H10

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, speaks during an interview with a group of journalists from international news networks at a guesthouse belonging to a government welfare organisation in Iran's northwestern city of Tabriz. Her death sentence could be quashed, a senior judiciary official has said.

A feminist activist is pictured next to posters of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani during a demonstration in Paris, September 2010. The son of Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman who has been sentenced to death by stoning, said on Saturday that his mother was guilty of murdering his father but pleaded for her execution to be stayed.

Sajjad Qaderzadeh, son of Iranian 43-year-old Iranian Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. His mother's death sentence could be quashed, a senior judiciary official has said, adding that some ambiguities remain in her case.

AFP - The sentence of death by stoning handed down by an Iranian court against a mother of two could be quashed, a senior judiciary official said on Sunday, adding that some ambiguities remain in her case.

When asked by Fars news agency whether the stoning sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani who was found guilty of adultery by an Iranian court could be quashed, Malek Ajdar Sharifi, the head of East Azerbaijan judiciary, said that "anything is possible."

Sharifi's remark came a day after Mohammadi Ashtiani appeared before a group of journalists working for international news networks during what Iranian judiciary officials called an "out of prison" visit to her family.

The journalists were not allowed to ask her questions during the meeting which took place in the presence of judiciary officials at a guesthouse in Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan.

His statement also comes after Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, Mohammadi Ashtiani's son, pleaded before foreign media that her execution by stoning be stayed.

Sharifi said that certain "ambiguities" still remained in the "evidence" gathered in Mohammadi Ashtiani's case, and this was causing the delay in taking a final decision over the verdict.

The cleric said it is easy to issue a verdict in a case where the murderer clearly confesses to his crime.

"But in this case where the defendant (Mohammadi Ashtiani) denies or makes justifications and there are ambiguities in the evidence, the procedure gets prolonged," he said.

Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose stoning sentence has triggered an outcry in the West, was sentenced to death by two different courts in Tabriz in separate trials in 2006.

Her sentence to hang for her involvement in the murder of her husband was commuted to a 10-year jail term by an appeals court in 2007.

But a second sentence to death by stoning on charges of adultery levelled over several relationships, notably with the man convicted of her husband's murder, was upheld by another appeals court the same year.

In her Saturday remarks to foreign media she said she wants to sue "the two German" journalists, her former lawyer Mohammad Mostafaie, anti-stoning campaigner Mina Ahadi and her husband's convicted murderer Issa Taheri.

"I have told Sajjad (her son)... to sue the ones who have disgraced me and the country... I have a complaint against them," she said.

The two German journalists from Bild am Sonntag were arrested on October 10 in Tabriz for interviewing Ashtiani's son and family lawyer who were also taken into custody. Her son has been free on bail since last month.

Iran says the two Germans entered the country on tourist visas and failed to obtain the necessary accreditation for journalists before "posing as reporters" when they contacted her family.

"I have come in front of the cameras at my own will to talk to the world," said the woman on Saturday.

"I am willing to talk because many people exploited (the case) and said I have been tortured, which is a lie... Leave my case alone. Why do you disgrace me?" she asked the reporters.

Berlin said on Sunday Mohammadi Ashtiani's remarks appeared to have been made under duress.

"The contents of the declarations relayed and the manner in which they were made really raise questions," a spokesman for the German foreign ministry said.

Ahadi too told AFP in Berlin that Mohammadi Ashtiani's remarks were made under "enormous pressure" exerted by "the Islamic regime of Iran."

The deputy editor of Bild am Sonntag also said he was "surprised and amazed" at Mohammadi Ashtiani's remarks about the newspaper's reporters.

"We find it surprising that a woman sentenced to death in Iran could leave prison for a few hours to announce to the Western media that she wants charges against the journalists reporting on her case," Michael Backhaus said.

Sharifi said that Mohammadi Ashtiani's meeting with foreign media was arranged following requests from the media themselves.

"Everything that must be said is said. No important points have been left out. Her lawyers, the convict herself and her son have said what should be said and nothing else (revelations) is left to be said," he said.

Prominent Germans, including business leaders, ministers and top sports stars, on Sunday urged Iran to free the two journalists.

Hong Kong democracy icon Szeto Wah dies aged 79

02 January 2011 - 14H15

Pro democracy legislators and demonstrators, including veteran campaigner Szeto Wah (R) stage a protest outside the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong. Szeto, one of the semi-autonomous city's most influential democracy campaigners has died at 79.

AFP - One of Hong Kong's most influential democracy campaigners, Szeto Wah, has died aged 79.

Known by many in Hong Kong as Uncle Wah, the veteran activist had been in hospital for several months after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Recent media reports had suggested his condition was deteriorating rapidly, and he died on Sunday morning.

In a statement Sunday, Hong Kong's chief executive Donald Tsang said he was "deeply saddened" at the death of the outspoken campaigner.

"Passionate about China and Hong Kong, Mr Szeto Wah was devoted in promoting democracy. Upright, industrious and unwavering in the pursuit of his ideals, Mr Szeto earned great respect from across the community," he said.

"He will be dearly missed," Tsang added.

Szeto was re-elected in November as chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, which routinely criticised Beijing for human-rights abuses and pushed for political reforms in the former British colony.

"I think his greatest achievement was to keep this movement alive and kicking all these years," Martin Lee, a founder of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, told AFP.

"He contributed greatly to that movement," Lee added.

The Alliance was founded less than a month before the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 which saw Chinese troops crush weeks of pro-democracy protests in Beijing, killing hundreds if not thousands of demonstrators.

Szeto formed the Professional Teachers Union in 1973 and was a long-time legislator and key Democratic Party member.

Time Magazine once named him one of the 25 most influential people in Hong Kong, calling him "democracy's foot soldier".

In April, a wheel-chair bound Szeto joined a rally in Hong Kong's glittering financial district against what was described as "political persecution" following the arrest of several Alliance members during an earlier protest.

Hong Kong has maintained a semi-autonomous status since its return to China in 1997, and guarantees civil liberties not seen on the Chinese mainland, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.

Hong Kong's political system consists of directly elected legislators and Beijing-appointed representatives, sparking regular calls for full democracy in the city of seven million.

Season over for Finnish skijumper Larinto

02 January 2011 - 13H53

Finland's ski jumper Ville Larinto celebrates after his qualification jump of the Four Hills tournament on December 28, 2010 in Oberstdorf, southern Germany. Larinto will not compete again this season after falling as he landed awkwardly at the tournament.

AFP - Young Finnish skijumper Ville Larinto will not compete again this season after falling as he landed awkwardly at the Four Hills tournament at Garmisch on Saturday, it emerged Sunday.

Larinto, just 20 and sixth in the World Cup standings, snapped cruciate knee ligaments and will undergo surgery Monday in Helsinki.

The Garmisch event went ahead despite difficult windy conditions which saw the competition reduced to a single jump.

Sunday saw qualification jumps for the third Four Hills event at Innsbruck on Monday.

Iran Guards shoot down two 'Western spy' drones

02 January 2011 - 14H46

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have shot down two "Western spy" drones in the Gulf, the Fars news agency has quoted a top commander of the elite military force as saying.

AFP - Iran's Revolutionary Guards have shot down two "Western spy" drones in the Gulf, the Fars news agency quoted a top commander of the elite military force as saying on Sunday.

"Westerners have a series of capabilities which cannot be ignored, especially satellites, or for example they have spy planes which can take pictures in some places," Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the air force wing of the Guards said.

He said that the drones were mainly being used in Iraq and Afghanistan but "some violations against our soil" have also occurred.

"And we have so far downed many of their advanced spy planes. In the Persian Gulf we have downed two of their planes and this is the first time that we are saying it," Hajizadeh said without specifying when exactly the drones were shot down.

He also boasted that all "enemy" bases in the region were within range of Iranian missiles, referring to arch-foe the United States. He said that even the aircraft carriers deployed in the region were no longer a threat to Iran.

"There was a time when an aircraft carrier was something to rely on and when they told a country that this warship was moving towards your shore, the government of that country would be toppled," Hajizadeh said.

"But now this has become a threat for them. We have full control of our enemies. We notice whatever changes taking place on our shores. When they go on alert in the warships or when they put on life jackets to launch boats in the sea, we are aware of that."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps was set up as a force to defend the 1979 Islamic revolution from internal and external threats.

Its commanders have repeatedly boasted of its capabilities and delivered warnings to regional foe Israel, which has not ruled out a military strike to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.

Coptic mourners clash with police after church bombing

The suspected suicide bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria on Saturday morning sparked angry protests when thousands of Copts took to the streets to mourn their loss, leading to clashes with the police and stone throwing with Muslims.

By Nicholas RUSHWORTH (video)
News Wires (text)

AFP – Egypt said a suicide bomber killed 21 people and wounded 79 outside a Coptic church on Saturday, in an attack President Hosni Mubarak said was the work of "foreign hands."

There was no immediate claim but Al-Qaeda has called for punishment of Egypt's Copts over claims that two priests' wives they say had converted to Islam were being held by the Church against their will.

The bombing in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria sparked anger among Christians, who clashed with police and shouted slogans against the regime of the ageing president, as well as condemnation from Western governments.

A health ministry official said 21 people were killed and 79 wounded, and the interior ministry said eight of those hurt were Muslims.

A witness had told private channel On-TV that in a car park outside the Al-Qiddissin (The Saints) church shortly after midnight (2200 GMT Friday), he saw two men get out and the explosion happen almost immediately afterwards.

But the interior ministry ruled out the hypothesis of a car bomb, saying it was "probable that the bomb... was carried by a suicide bomber who died among the crowd."

The device was packed with pieces of metal to cause the maximum harm, the ministry added.

And the circumstances of the explosion, "given the methods that currently prevail in terrorist activities at the global and regional level, clearly indicate" that the bombing was "planned and carried out by foreign elements."

Mubarak echoed that, saying the bombing bore the hallmark "of foreign hands."

In televised remarks, he referred to it as something that "is alien to us," and pledged to "cut off the head of the snake, confront terrorism and defeat it."

Egypt has been the target of repeated attacks against foreign tourists in recent years, most notably bombings on resorts in the south Sinai and a hostage bloodbath in Luxor in 1997 that killed more than 60 holidaymakers.

Pope Benedict XVI urged world leaders to defend Christians against abuse and intolerance, while US President Barack Obama denounced an "outrageous" bombing.

"I once again launch a pressing appeal not to give in to discouragement and resignation," said the pontiff.

"The perpetrators of this attack were clearly targeting Christian worshippers, and have no respect for human life and dignity. They must be brought to justice for this barbaric and heinous act," Obama said.

The European Union "unreservedly" condemned the bombing. "There cannot be any justification for this attack," the EU's foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said.

Refaa al-Tahtawi, spokesman for Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's main seat of learning, appealed for calm, as did a senior Coptic official.

In the day after the bombing, growing numbers of Christians were continuing to vent their anger.

By mid-afternoon, hundreds of youths in small groups in the neighbourhood of the church were showering rocks and bottles on police, who responded with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets.

"O Mubarak, the heart of the Copts is on fire," they shouted as they darted in and out of side-streets to heckle police.

Others unfurled their fury at the "cowardly terrorists" and chanted: "The blood of the Copts is not cheap."

One demonstrator brandished a large cross, with bloody remnants of victims' clothing attached.

At least 5,000 people took part late Saturday in funerals for the victims at a monastery outside Alexandria, where crowds of mourners shouted slogans and refused to accept official condolences.

"No, no, no," the crowd shouted as a Church official tried to read out condolences from Mubarak.

In Alexandria, the Church said in a statement that the attack "constituted a dangerous escalation in sectarian incidents against the Copts."

While no one has claimed the attack, it comes two months after gunmen stormed a Baghdad cathedral in an operation that left 44 worshippers, two priests and seven security force personnel dead.

That was claimed by Al-Qaeda's Iraq affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, which said its purpose was to force the release of the two women in Egypt.

"All Christian centres, organisations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the mujahedeen (holy warriors) wherever they can reach them," the group said.

"Let these idolaters, and at their forefront, the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican, know that the killing sword will not be lifted from the necks of their followers until they declare their innocence from what the dog of the Egyptian Church is doing," the ISI said.

After those threats, protection around Coptic places of worship was discreetly stepped up, with Mubarak saying he was committed to protecting the Christians "faced with the forces of terrorism and extremism".

The Copts, who account for up to 10 percent of Egypt's 80-million population and often complain of discrimination, have been the target of repeated sectarian attacks.

Hungary takes on EU presidency amid outcry over media law

In the midst of a deep European debt crisis and under fire from its EU partners for a controversial new media law, Hungary took on the rotating presidency Saturday with plans to increase the bloc’s economic competitiveness.

By News Wires (text)

AFP – Hungary took the helm of the European Union on Saturday as a new law that has sparked concern about media freedom in the country came into force in the teeth of fierce opposition.

The challenges currently facing the 27-nation bloc are daunting: the eurozone debt crisis, the integration of the Roma minority and tough negotiations over the EU's long-term budget.

In an interview published on the EU's website, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the Hungarian presidency was "good news for Europe" and that "everybody was interested in a strong Europe because it is a source of support and resources for all nations".

Among the priorities of the Hungarian presidency, he said, would be increasing the bloc's economic competitiveness.

"A transformation of incredible speed and depth is happening throughout the world; Europe must be able to stand in a much stronger global competition than ever before," Orban said.

But as he prepares to tackle the six months ahead, Orban will also be facing tough questions over controversial reforms that have raised hackles both at home and abroad.

Orban stormed to power in April when his centre-right Fidesz party won an unprecedented two-thirds parliamentary majority, giving him power to change laws and even the constitution more or less at will.

The 47-year-old quickly installed his own allies in almost all key positions of power in the country, including the president, Pal Schmitt.

EU's rotating presidency MEDIA Hungary offers talks on controversial media law

It is above all a far-reaching media reform that has raised questions about Hungary's suitability to hold the rotating EU presidency.

As part of the changes, a new watchdog was set up to regulate media content and impose fines when rules are not respected.

The authority is headed by members of Orban's Fidesz party and will have the right to inspect media equipment and documents and to force journalists to reveal sources on issues related to national security.

As the law came into effect Saturday small private radio station Tilos complained that it had come under investigation for broadcasting a number by US rapper-cum-actor Ice-T.

A letter from the NMHH authority, published on the radio's website, said it opened its investigation in September after the radio ran Ice-T's "Warning, it's on" that month at 1730 local.

NMHH said the song was "gangster-rap" and "could influence the development of minors in a negative way". Tilos should have broadcast it after 2100, it said.

Ice-T, also known for his role as an NYPD detective in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", said on twitter "I love it! The world still fears me. Hahaha!"

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has slammed the law as a danger to press freedom and the European Parliament and countries such as Germany have also been openly critical.

Among the challenges facing Hungary as EU president, the biggest will perhaps be the eurozone debt crisis.

Budapest will also oversee the launch of highly delicate talks about the EU budget for the period from 2014-2020, which looks set to pit rich countries such as Britain, France and Germany against poorer eastern members.

Another potentially divisive issue will be the enlargement of Europe's so-called Schengen area, within which citizens can travel freely without border controls.

Romania and Bulgaria, supported by Hungary, hope to join the area in March 2011, but France and Germany have decided to block their membership bids, regarding them as premature.

One of the big events of the presidency will be the second Eastern Partnership Summit in Budapest in May.

The goal of the partnership, launched by the EU in 2009, is to develop economic and political relations between the bloc and six former Soviet republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Hungary also hopes to advance Croatia's bid to join the EU.

Finally, the integration of Europe's impoverished Roma minority will also be one of Budapest's priorities.

The issue is very delicate, particularly in Paris, which has come under fire from Brussels over its forcible expulsion of Roma, as well as in Budapest itself following a series of deadly attacks against Roma in recent years.

Hungary, an ex-Communist bloc country that joined the EU in 2004, will hand over the presidency to another eastern European nation, Poland, on July 1.