"If we die, we are martyrs - if we live, we are victors," say the Taliban in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province. They have taken control of the area in less than two weeks. For, with ever accelerating speed, the Taliban are reconquering south-west Afghanistan from the government, American and Nato forces sent to fight them. It took Besmillah, a villager from Panjwai, three hours to get from his home to Kandahar, a journey that usually takes an hour. "There were bodies on the road," he says, "at least 40 bodies - of Afghan soldiers - lying in a place called Yakh Chah [Ice Well], halfway between Shykh Kalandar and the municipality of Panjwai. The Taliban have a madrasa in Shykh Kalandar and they were attacking the municipality from there at first. But now they have taken the whole district. I saw two cars on fire. I had to go through the fields and take side roads to make it to Kandahar."... http://news.independent.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 00:21:00 08-21-06 |
‘Spot’ teams to spy on passengers |
ELITE teams of security officers are to be trained to monitor passenger behaviour at airports in a new attempt to combat terrorism. The “behaviour detection squads” will patrol terminals to monitor the gestures, conversations and facial expressions of passengers. One of their aims will be to spot those who may be concealing fear or anxiety. People deemed to be acting suspiciously will be taken for questioning and prevented from flying if they fail to explain their actions. UK trainers have studied the techniques in America, where behaviour detection squads are already deployed at airports. The plan is part of an overhaul of passenger screening. Instead of solely relying on searches to uncover weapons and bombs, airport authorities are increasingly seeking to pinpoint the terrorists themselves. In the long run, passengers flying from international hubs such as Heathrow and Gatwick could even face a lie-detector test before they board. ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2320784,00.html
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Editor - 22:41:00 08-20-06 |
Police Say A Missouri Man Confessed To Killing, Dismembering And Burning Bodies Of 7 Men |
A Missouri man who police say confessed to killing, dismembering and burning the bodies of seven men in his bedroom fireplace was charged with one count of murder. Michael Lee Shaver Jr., 33, was charged Sunday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action related to a killing in fall 2001. Shaver, who police say spontaneously confessed after he was arrested following a failed carjacking, told investigators that he had shot and killed seven people at his residence during drug transactions so he could take their money and drugs, Cass County Sheriff's Capt. Chuck Stocking said. Shaver claimed that after he killed the men—all between the ages of 20 and 40 and from the Kansas City area—he dismembered the bodies, burned the parts in a fireplace in his bedroom, then used a hammer to crush large bones and skulls, Stocking said. ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/21/national/main1914120.shtml?source=RSS&attr=U.S._1914120
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Editor - 22:23:00 08-20-06 |
Police shot in Texas gun standoff |
Three US police officers and a state trooper have been shot and wounded during a standoff with a gunman in an apartment in Texas. The gunman is still holed up in the building in the town of Midlothian, 40km (25 miles) south-west of Dallas. Police officials said the officers had initially been called to the apartment to investigate a broken window. They realised the pane had been broken by gunfire and when they went to the flat to make inquiries, were shot at. All three police officers in attendance were wounded. One, Sgt Brian Woolery, is in a serious condition at Methodist Dallas Medical Centre Hospital. His colleague, officer Dustin Compton, is reported to be in a good condition, while the status of the third officer, who was also hospitalised, is unknown. Trooper Rick Smith rushed to the scene of the incident when he heard the report that three policemen had been hurt, and he was also fired upon. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5269812.stm
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Editor - 20:33:00 08-20-06 |
New Zealand Maori choose new king |
Elders from New Zealand's indigenous Maori population have named 51-year-old Tuheitia Paki as their new king. King Tuheitia, a university manager and cultural adviser, was chosen at a secret meeting in Ngaruawahia village. He is the eldest son of the previous monarch, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who died last week. Dame Te Ata held the throne for 40 years, making her the longest-serving monarch in the 150 years since the Maori began choosing their leaders. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5269822.stm
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Editor - 20:28:00 08-20-06 |
Human Bird Flu Cases Found This Year Equal 2005 Level |
Bird flu killed a 35-year-old woman in Indonesia, raising the number of cases worldwide this year to 95, the same number reported in the whole of 2005, as health authorities study whether the virus is spreading between humans. Tests on the woman were positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, I Nyoman Kandun, a director general at the Ministry of Health, said late yesterday. Indonesia, with the most H5N1 deaths, confirmed two other cases from the village where the woman lived. Officials are checking for signs of human-to-human transmission, Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said last week. ``The cases have occurred in a remote, mountainous area where there are a lot of other diseases,'' Georg Petersen, the World Health Organization's Indonesia representative, said in a telephone interview today. ``It's important to identify illnesses caused by bird flu and illnesses caused by the other diseases.'' ... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7tFDCDftmjw&refer=worldwide_news
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Editor - 20:24:00 08-20-06 |
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