'Dumb' thief picks police summit
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A man in the US state of Pennsylvania accused of a robbery at a narcotics police convention has been described as probably the state's dumbest criminal.
Retired police chief John Comparetto was attending the meeting of 300 officers when he was allegedly held up at gunpoint in the men's toilets.
He handed over money and a phone but then he and some colleagues gave chase as the suspect tried to flee in a taxi.
They arrested a 19-year-old man over the incident near Harrisburg.
Mr Comparetto described the suspect as "probably the dumbest criminal in Pennsylvania".
The Associated Press news agency reported that when a journalist asked the suspect for comment as he was led from court, he said: "I'm smooth."
Afghan leader welcomes US review
Afghan leader welcomes US review
 The US plans to send thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan |
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says a US review of strategy in the region - announced by President Obama on Friday - was "better than he had expected".
Mr Karzai praised the review's focus on countering militant activity in Pakistan and the US offer to Iran of a role in seeking a political solution.
Mr Obama described the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan as "perilous".
US officials later spoke of alleged links between Pakistan's military intelligence, the ISI, and militants.
Announcing the US review, Mr Obama proposed a big spending programme on infrastructure projects, and said 4,000 extra troops would be sent to Afghanistan to train security forces.
 |   We'll be working very, very closely with the US government to prepare for and to work on implementing all that was laid out in this strategy  Hamid Karzai  |
President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, meanwhile, has also praised some aspects of the review, including the US offer of civilian aid to try to reduce the influence of Islamic militants in remote border areas of Pakistan.
Speaking to journalists in Kabul, Mr Karzai said he was "in full agreement" with the strategy.
"It is exactly what the Afghan people were hoping for, and we're seeking," he said.
"Therefore, it has our full support and backing... and we'll be working very, very closely with the US government to prepare for and to work on implementing all that was laid out in this strategy."
"This is better than we were expecting as a matter of fact," he added.
'Dangerous'
On Friday Mr Obama said growing radical forces in Afghanistan and the border area in Pakistan posed the greatest threat to the American people and the world.
He painted a bleak picture of the situation, with insurgents increasing their control of territory in the region around the Afghan-Pakistan border - which he termed "the most dangerous place in the world" for the American people - and attacks rising.
He said American strategy must relate directly to the threat posed to the Americans by al-Qaeda and its allies - who, he reminded his listeners, were behind the 9/11 attacks on American soil eight years ago.
Hours after the speech, senior US military officials spoke of alleged links between Pakistan's military intelligence, the ISI, and militants on the country's borders with both Afghanistan and India.
Gen David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, said that if such links undermined operations against the militants they would damage US efforts to build trust in the region.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Deadly blast hits Pakistan mosque
Deadly blast hits Pakistan mosque
The aftermath of the attack in Jamrud
A bomb has exploded at a mosque near the town of Jamrud in the Khyber agency in north-west Pakistan, killing at least 50 people, officials say.
The top administrator in the Khyber region, Tariq Hayat, said he feared the death toll could rise to 70.
Officials say the attack was a suicide bombing and the mosque has collapsed.
North-west Pakistan has witnessed a number of suicide attacks linked to the Taleban insurgency and also to the Shia-Sunni sectarian divide.
The attack in the village of Baghiani, about 30km (20 miles) from the Afghan border, took place as Friday prayers were beginning.
More than 70 people have been hurt.
Rescuers were at the scene digging through the rubble, pulling out bodies and injured survivors who were rushed to hospital.
'Caught fire'
The mosque was next to a tribal police checkpoint, says the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad, and was crowded with about 250 worshippers, including many police.
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Television pictures showed that the mosque had been blown to pieces.
Noor Mohammad, a policeman in the tribal region, told the BBC: "The blast took place just before the prayer leader announced the start of prayers.
"I was standing on the verandah outside the mosque because I was late and could not find space inside. After the explosion, the doors into the mosque caught fire. Moments later, the mosque collapsed."
The attack came just hours before US President Barack Obama was due to unveil details of a new strategy to fight militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pakistan's security officials have recently concentrated forces in the Khyber region, and especially the Jamrud area, to fight militants attacking convoys carrying supplies for the Nato forces in Afghanistan.
Some reports say the operations have been co-ordinated by US intelligence officials, and security forces say they have captured or killed several al-Qaeda members in the operations.
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The Khyber administrator, Tariq Hayat, said people in the area had been co-operating with security forces.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which could also be linked to disputes between local tribal militias, says our correspondent.
On Thursday, at least 10 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Jandola in South Waziristan.
That attack, at a restaurant, was blamed on rivalry between militant factions.
Officials said a group of militants opposed to Pakistan's top Taleban commander had been in the restaurant.
At least 25 people were killed last month in a suicide bomb attack on a funeral procession in Dera Ismail Khan, a town in North-West Frontier Province, close to the semi-autonomous tribal area.
The bomber targeted the funeral of a Shia Muslim cleric who had been gunned down the day before.
The town has a history of sectarian violence between its Sunni and Shia Muslim communities.
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Man guilty of Mizen bakery murder
Man guilty of Mizen bakery murder
 The glass dish shattered when it hit Jimmy Mizen's jaw |
A 19-year-old man has been found guilty of the murder of teenager Jimmy Mizen at a bakery in south-east London.
Jimmy, 16, bled to death when the vessels in his neck were severed as he was hit by a glass dish in the baker's in Lee in May 2008.
Jake Fahri, 19, from Lee, had claimed he acted in self defence when a fight broke out between himself, Jimmy and Jimmy's brother.
A jury found Fahri guilty of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey.
The jury of eight women and four men reached their verdict after less than eight hours of deliberations over two days.
Jimmy's family applauded as the verdict was delivered.
The court heard that Jimmy and Fahri had been rowing in the bakery when Fahri grabbed an advertising sign that was lying nearby, prompting a "tug-of-war" battle.
In an attempt to get Jimmy to let go, Fahri picked up the nearby oven-proof glass dish and flung it at his victim. The dish shattered, and a piece lodged in Jimmy's neck, cutting an artery and his jugular vein.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Police drop Olmert bribery case
Police drop Olmert bribery case
 Mr Olmert denies all the corruption allegations against him |
Israeli police have closed one of the criminal investigations against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's for lack of evidence, a police spokesman said.
The probe was into his purchase of a house in Jerusalem significantly below market price while mayor of the city.
"The head of the investigation team reached the conclusion there isn't concrete evidence of any illegal act," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Mr Olmert denies wrongdoing, though a series of probes caused him to resign.
The 63-year-old, who only has days left in office, still faces possible indictment on charges of fraud and breach of trust.
Indictments recommended
| EHUD OLMERT'S POLITICAL LIFE 1993: Begins 10-year stint as mayor of Jerusalem 2005: Leaves right-wing Likud party with former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to form Kadima 2006: Takes over as leader when Ariel Sharon suffers a stroke 2007: Helps re-launch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after seven-year hiatus 2008: Announces plans to resign |
In the so-called Cremieux property case, Mr Olmert paid $325,000 less than market value for the property in question, which led to suspicions of fraud and bribery.
In December, he was cleared because of lack of evidence of corruption in the privatisation of an Israeli bank while he was finance minister in 2005.
However, he may face charges over separate allegations, including for claiming extra expenses on trips abroad, unlawfully accepting cash from a US businessman and for corrupt political appointments.
Police have already recommended he be indicted in the first of two of these three cases.
Mr Olmert remains in office while his designated successor, Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, builds a new government following elections in February.
Correspondents say allegations of corruption have swirled around Olmert throughout his three-decade political career, but he has never been convicted of a crime.
Blast rips through Baghdad crowd
Blast rips through Baghdad crowd
 Up to 35 people may have been injured in the explosion |
A car bomb blast which ripped through a crowd of shoppers near a bus stop in northern Baghdad has killed at least 16 people and injured more than 30.
The bomb went off near a market in the capital's Shaab district, a mainly Shia area, officials say.
Iraqi police believe it was a deliberate attempt to kill the maximum number of civilians possible.
Violence has declined in Iraq recently but on Monday, a suicide bomber killed 25 people in the north of the country.
Nearly 70 people died earlier this month in two suicide attacks in Baghdad.
On Wednesday, a US military spokesman said that attacks across Iraq had fallen to levels of the early months of the US-led war which began in March 2003.
'Sending message'
The car with the bomb was parked near a bus terminal between a hospital and a busy market.
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Iraqi officials say four children and at least three women were among those killed in the blast, which happened on Thursday afternoon.
No-one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Police think it was a deliberate attempt to slaughter civilians at random, probably by al-Qaeda in Iraq, as a way of sending a message that "we are still here", the BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad says.
Our correspondent adds that the poor and unremarkable Shaab district has been attacked several times before.
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European mobile data prices set
European mobile data prices set
 The cost of sending text messages while overseas should drop |
Using a mobile phone abroad in Europe looks set to get cheaper.
European MPs have brokered an agreement that will see the tariffs for making calls, sending text messages and browsing the web fall from July 2009.
All the prices that have been agreed are regarded as a ceiling and are the maximum that operators will be allowed to charge for the different services.
Before coming into force the tariffs must be approved by member states and the European parliament.
'Disappointment'
The agreement caps the cost of sending a text message at 11 cents (10p) throughout Europe.
Currently, texting tariffs vary widely across Europe. On average Europeans pay 29 cents to send a text and some pay as much as 80 cents.
| ROAMING COSTS - OUTGOING CALLS 43 cents per minute from July 2009 39 cents per minute from July 2010 35 cents per minute from July 2011 |
Other data costs, charged to send e-mails or browse the web, will be regulated at the operator level. The agreement fixes how much a roaming operator can charge a customer's home operator.
From July 2009 the rate will be a maximum of 1 euro (92p) per megabyte and will fall to 50 cents (46p) from July 2011.
| ROAMING COSTS - DATA 1 euro per megabyte from July 2009 80 cents per megabyte from July 2010 50 cents per megabyte from July 2011 |
In addition mobile owners will be able to agree a spending cap with their operators to ensure they do not rack up huge, unexpected bills while abroad. Customers will be warned when they have reached 80% of their spending limit.
The agreement also further pushes down the price of making a phone call while abroad. For each minute of conversation, customers should be charged no more than 43 cents from July 2009. Further falls will follow in 2010, and 2011.
Mobile operators will also have to change the way they charge customers for calls. Currently many round call durations up to the nearest minute before working out charges.
Under the proposed agreement operators will have to move to per-second call charges but can impose an initial minimum charging period 30 seconds in length.
The GSM Association said it was disappointed with some aspects of the deal which brought price caps in earlier and went further than had been initially suggested by the European Commission.
The agreement goes before the European Parliament's industry committee on 31 March and is expected to be voted on in a full session by 24 April.