Afghan suicide attack 'kills 11'

31 July 2011 Last updated at 08:40 GMT The attack targeted the gate of the police headquarters in Lashkar Gah

Ten Afghan policemen and a child have been killed in a suicide attack in the southern Afghan city of Lashkar Gah, officials say.

The attacker targeted the gate of the police headquarters in the city, the capital of Helmand province.

The Taliban said it had carried out the attack, which also wounded 12 people.

Responsibility for Lashkar Gah was recently handed to Afghan forces as part of a plan to return all security to local forces by the end of 2014.

High-profile raids

The attack reportedly targeted a joint Afghan police and army patrol at the compound.

Daoud Ahmadi, spokesman for the Helmand provincial governor, said that in addition to those killed nine policemen and three civilians were injured.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told Agence France-Presse news agency the group had carried out the attack.

Helmand remains a flashpoint of the Taliban insurgency and has cost the lives of more foreign troops than any other province.

Lashkar Gah is one of seven initial areas for which security has been handed to Afghan forces as part of the gradual transition of control from the Nato-led Isaf.

Sunday's attack follows a series of high-profile Taliban raids.

Last week an attack by insurgents in the southern Afghan town of Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan province left at least 22 people dead, including BBC reporter Ahmed Omed Khpulwak.

On 27 July, the mayor of Kandahar, Ghulam Haidar Hameedi, was killed in a suicide attack.

Two weeks earlier, President Hamid Karzai's influential half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was killed in the same city.

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Eight die in China street attack

31 July 2011 Last updated at 08:23 GMT Two men have launched a street attack in China's western Xinjiang region, official media say, leaving at least eight people dead.

The assailants reportedly hijacked a truck late on Saturday in Kashgar city, killing its driver. They then ran the vehicle into a group of pedestrians and attacked them with knives.

One attacker died and one was captured.

This is the second attack in a month in Xinjiang, home to a Muslim Uighur minority and scene of ethnic tension.

The attack was preceded by two explosions, media said, but it is not clear whether the events were connected.

A local official was quoted as saying that both attackers were Uighurs.

"The case is still under investigation so I don't have more information," Hou Hanmin told AFP news agency.

Ethnic unrest

According to tianshannet.com, a Xinjiang government-run website, the assailants hijacked a truck waiting at traffic lights, stabbing the driver to death before ploughing the vehicle into bystanders.

They then got out of the vehicle and started attacking people at random, the report said.

It said the crowd then turned on the men, killing one of them. The second man was captured.

State-run news agency Xinhua said the attack had been preceded by two explosions.

Twenty-eight people were reported to have been taken to hospital.

On 18 July, several police officials and a number of civilians were killed in an attack on a police station in the city of Hotan.

Chinese officials blamed the attack on "terrorists" from the Uighur minority.

Uighur activists said the security forces had provoked clashes by opening fire on a peaceful demonstration.

The majority of Xinjiang's population is ethnically Uighur - who are Muslims with strong cultural ties to Central Asia.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says many Uighurs are unhappy about what they say is the repressive rule of Beijing and are angered by the migration of the majority Han Chinese to the region.

In 2009, riots erupted in Xinjiang in which nearly 200 people died after tensions flared between the Uighurs and the Han.

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Queen 'saddened' by Norway attack

23 July 2011 Last updated at 10:08 GMT Scores of young people attending a youth camp were shot by the gunman The Queen has written to the king of Norway to express sympathy over the attacks in his country.

She said the thoughts of her and the Duke of Edinburgh were with the Norwegian people.

A bomb attack in Oslo was followed by a gunman opening fire at a youth camp, leaving at least 84 people dead.

Her message to King Harald said: "I am deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic loss of life of so many people on the island of Utoeya and in Oslo."

She added: "Prince Philip joins me in extending our heartfelt sympathy to your majesty and the people of Norway. Our prayers and thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the dreadful atrocity."

The Norwegian embassy in Belgrave Square, central London, was open on Saturday, its flag flying at half mast.

A spokesman said: "We're open for any Norwegians who might need someone to speak to or feel the need to be with someone."

At least seven people were killed in the bombing and scores more are known to have died at the camp for young members of the Labour Party in Utoeya, an island outside the capital.

Police have charged a 32-year-old Norwegian man, Anders Behring Breivik, over both attacks.

The Foreign Office has advised British nationals in Norway to take extra care.

In a statement on its website, the Foreign Office said: "We recommend that British nationals stay indoors for the time being. British nationals are advised to exercise caution, monitor local media reporting and follow advice given by the emergency services."

Diplomats also say they are checking whether any British nationals are affected by the tragedy.

Around 250,000 British tourists visit Norway every year, the Foreign Office says on the Norway travel advice section of its website.

And according to the UK embassy in Oslo, there are also 25,000 to 30,000 Britons resident in the country.

Travel advice

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he was "outraged" by the attack.

He said he has spoken to the country's PM Jens Stoltenberg to express the UK's condolences and offered assistance in tracking down the perpetrators.

Mr Cameron said: "My thoughts are with the wounded and those who have lost friends and family, and I know everyone in Britain will feel the same.

"These attacks are a stark reminder of the threat we all face from terrorism.

"I have called Prime Minister Stoltenberg this evening to express my sincere condolences and to let him know that our thoughts are with the Norwegian people at this tragic time.

"I have offered Britain's help, including through our close intelligence cooperation."

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Colombia condemns rebel attack

29 June 2011 Last updated at 23:40 GMT Maj Felix Antonio Jaimes Villamil was ambushed as he arrived on the scene Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has condemned as "cowardly" an ambush by left-wing Farc rebels that has killed a senior police officer.

Maj Felix Antonio Jaimes Villamil was killed by an explosive device in north-western Antioquia province.

Police said the explosives were set off as Maj Jaimes arrived to investigate a rebel attack on two buses.

The Colombian authorities say the Farc have stepped up their attacks on civilians and security forces alike.

Police say three people were injured early on Wednesday when members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) burned down two buses and a lorry on the main road linking Colombia's second city, Medellin, with the Atlantic Coast.

Officials said Maj Jaimes, the commander of Antioquia's highway police, travelled to the area to oversee the evacuation of the victims.

Two police agents who were accompanying Maj Jaimes were also injured when the device went off.

President Santos called the ambush "terrorist and cowardly".

"This shows that the Farc are ever more desperate and weak," the president said.

Colombian security forces have killed a number of Farc leaders over the past year, and arrested many others.

The attack happened on the main road from Medellin to the Atlantic Coast, near Yarumal

The group's top military commander Jorge Briceno, better known as Mono Jojoy, was killed in an army bombing raid last September.

And the army says it is getting ever closed to Farc leader Alfonso Cano, whose head of security it killed in March.

But the rebels also have been stepping up their attacks on both civilian and military targets.

The Colombian hauliers' union has asked the government to increase security on the country's highways.

They said the attack was the ninth so far this year in Antioquia, with some 40 vehicles burned by the guerrilla nationwide.

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Fresh attack on Libya's Misrata

10 June 2011 Last updated at 21:23 GMT The BBC's David Loyn in Misrata says morale is high among the rebels

A renewed barrage of shelling by Libyan troops around Misrata has left at least 22 people dead and at least 60 wounded, according to hospital doctors in the rebel-held city.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have been pounding Misrata throughout the day.

The city is the main rebel stronghold in western Libya, and has the country's largest port.

Witnesses report no activity in the area by Nato aircraft.

Tanks, artillery and incendiary rockets bombarded rebel positions at Dafniya, about 18 miles (30km) west of the city, said a doctor at Hikma Hospital in Misrata, speaking to Associated Press news agency.

Misrata has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the Libyan unrest. It endured 70 days of siege by pro-Gaddafi forces until Nato air raids broke the siege three weeks ago, enabling the rebels to break out.

Government forces have pushed back against those territorial gains.

They surround Misrata on all sides but the north, where the Mediterranean Sea provides a vital conduit for supplies from the rebel-held east.

Also on Friday, Col Gaddafi's forces shelled the town of Gadamis, 600km (370 miles) south-west of Tripoli, for the first time since the start of the uprising in February, a rebel spokesman told Reuters news agency.

Meanwhile Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government had offered to help send Col Gaddafi "wherever he wants to go", but had so far received no response from the Libyan authorities, AFP news agency reported.

Rape investigation

In Norway, military officials have announced their country would scale down its fighter jet contribution to the Nato force flying above Libya, from six planes to four. It will withdraw completely from the Nato-led operation by August.

The alliance decided last week to extend the Libyan mission for 90 days, into late September.

Speaking shortly before the Norwegian announcement, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates strongly criticised some Nato allies, in his last major speech before he retires later this month.

Mr Gates said operations in Libya and Afghanistan had exposed shortcomings in the military capability and political will of some members.

A senior United Nations official has said rape is still being used as a weapon of war in conflicts worldwide, including Libya.

Most perpetrators go unpunished as sexual violence thrives in a climate of impunity where victims are denied justice or reparations, said Margot Wallstrom, special representative of the UN secretary general on sexual violence in conflict.

"Sexual violence has become a tactic of choice for armed groups, being cheaper, more destructive and easier to get away with than other methods of warfare," she told a news conference.

Earlier this week, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said he was reviewing evidence that Colonel Gaddafi ordered his troops to rape hundreds of women as a weapon against rebel forces.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said rape was emerging as a new aspect of Col Gaddafi's repression.

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IMF hit by 'major' cyber attack

12 June 2011 Last updated at 10:27 GMT IMF told staff it had detected suspicious file transfers on its networks The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has been targeted by a sophisticated cyber attack.

Officials at the fund gave few details but said the attack earlier this year had been "a very major breach" of its systems, the New York Times reports.

Cyber security officials said the hack was designed to install software to create a "digital insider presence".

The IMF, which holds sensitive economic data about many countries, said its operations were fully functional.

The cyber attack took place over several months, and happened before former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested over sexual assault charges.

"I can confirm that we are investigating an incident," said spokesman David Hawley.

"I am not in a position to elaborate further on the extent of the cyber security incident."

The New York Times said IMF staff had been told of the intrusion on Wednesday by e-mail, but that the Fund had not made a public announcement.

The e-mail warned that "suspicious file transfers" had been detected and that an investigation had shown a desktop at the Fund had been "compromised and used to access some Fund systems".

There was "no reason to believe that any personal information was sought for fraud purposes," it said.

High profile breaches

A cyber security expert told Reuters the infiltration had been a targeted attack which installed software designed to give a nation state a "digital insider presence" at the IMF.

"The code was developed and released for this purpose," said Tom Kellerman, who has worked for the Fund.

Bloomberg quoted an unnamed security expert as saying the hackers were connected to a foreign government. However, such attacks are very difficult to trace.

The World Bank said it briefly cut its network connection with the Fund out "an abundance of caution".

"The World Bank Group, like any other large organisation, is increasingly aware of potential threats to the security of our information system and we are constantly working to improve our defences," said spokesman Rich Mills.

The incident is the latest in a string of high-profile cyber security breaches.

In April, the Sony Playstation network was shut down after hackers stole the personal data of about 100 million accounts and in May, US defence firm Lockheed Martin said it had come under a significant cyber-attack.

CIA Director Leon Panetta told the US Congress earlier this week that a large-scale cyber attack while would cripples power, finance, security and governmental systems was "a real possibility in today's world".

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'Deadly attack' on Syria's Rastan

2 June 2011 Last updated at 21:31 GMT Hillary Clinton: "If he's not going to lead the reform, he needs to get out of the way"

Syrian government troops have heavily bombarded Rastan, near Homs, in the centre of the country, killing at least 15 people, activists say.

More than 50 people have been killed in Rastan since a military operation there started at the weekend, reports say.

The offensive comes despite a government amnesty offer and the release of hundreds of detainees.

Opposition groups dismissed the moves and urged President Bashar al-Assad to resign and make way for democracy.

The groups, which comprise about 300 activists, are meeting in Antalya in neighbouring Turkey.

They said in a communique that Mr Assad should hand power to one of his two vice-presidents, without specifying which, and hold free elections within a year.

"The delegates have committed to the demands of the Syrian people to bring down the regime and support the people's revolution for freedom and dignity," the communique said.

The Local Co-ordinating Committee, which helps to organise and document the country's protests, gave the names of the people it said were killed in Rastan in the latest artillery and tank bombardments.

The committee said the offensive had hit at least two mosques and a bakery, as well as houses that collapsed, killing entire families.

Eyewitnesses told BBC Arabic that army and security forces are not able to take control the town, even though it has been surrounded by tanks over the past few days.

Detainees released

Following the announcement on Tuesday of a conditional amnesty, hundreds of detainees have been released.

More seem to be on the way, although it is not clear if the authorities intend to free all the 10,000 or more people believed to have been detained in the past 10 weeks and the thousands already in jail before that, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.

The authorities have announced the formation of a high-level commission to oversee a proposed national dialogue aimed at stabilising the situation.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against President Assad began in March, activists say.

Reports from Syria are hard to verify independently, as foreign journalists are not allowed into the country.

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Deadly bomb attack at Iraq mosque

3 June 2011 Last updated at 13:40 GMT At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured in a bomb attack aimed at worshippers at a mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit.

Reports say police and local officials were among the casualties.

It is not clear who carried out the attack or whether a suicide bomber was involved.

It is the second attack in Iraq in as many days, after bombings in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, killed at least six people on Thursday.

'Canister' bomb

The blast happened at about 1245 local time (0945 GMT) on Friday, officials said.

Medics said that 16 bodies were brought to the main hospital after the explosion.

Doctor Raeid Ibrahim was quoted by the AP news agency as saying that another 54 people had been wounded.

Among the injured was at least one member of the Salaheddin provincial council.

Some reports suggest the bomb was hidden inside a fuel canister at the entrance to the mosque.

Tikrit - about 130km (80 miles) north of Baghdad - is the home town of the deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein.

Many of his relatives and former associates live there.

While violence has decreased in Iraq in the last few years, attacks are still frequent and government or security officials are often targets.

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Yemen president injured in attack

3 June 2011 Last updated at 15:55 GMT A truce agreed last week collapsed after four days, with each side blaming the other President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been slightly hurt in an attack on a mosque in his compound in the Yemeni capital Sanaa and is in hospital, officials say, as fighting continues between the government and armed tribes.

Earlier, officials told TV he was well and would address the nation shortly.

The PM and parliament speaker were hurt and an imam and three guards killed.

Earlier troops shelled the home of the brother of the tribal leader whose supporters they are fighting.

However, the office of the tribal leader, Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, denied responsibility for the attack on the palace. This contradicted an earlier claim made by Sheikh Ahmar's spokesman that the attack had been retaliatory.

Thousands meanwhile attended a funeral for 50 people killed in the violence.

The United States has sent an envoy to the Gulf to discuss ways of stopping the violence, which has brought Yemen to the brink of civil war.

More than 350 people have been killed since the uprising started in January, but least 135 of them have died in the past 10 days.

Continue reading the main story Lina Sinjab BBC News, Sanaa

This is the first attack on the presidential palace since the clashes started.

His forces were intending to crush Hamid al-Ahmar's forces. They have moved the fight from the north of the city in Hassaba to the south in Hadda, a residential upper-class area occupied by diplomats, top officials and businessmen. Sheikh Ahmar's house is there and has been heavily targeted.

But the president's army is not as powerful as it was. Its first division, led by Gen Ali Mohsen, has defected to the opposition and has not been involved in the fighting yet. But if it did become involved, it would mean a declaration of war.

The retaliation against President Saleh's compound could expand into further clashes in the capital. It is also being seen as a sign that the end is near for him.

Western and regional powers have been urging Mr Saleh to sign a Gulf Co-operation Council-brokered deal that would see him hand over to his deputy in return for an amnesty from prosecution.

He has agreed to sign on several occasions, but then backed out.

GCC Secretary-General Abdulattif al-Zayani called for an end to the fighting and said the council was ready to do all it could to help, Reuters news agency reported.

'Red lines'

There has been heavy fighting in the northern Sanaa district of Hassaba since last week between Mr Saleh's forces and tribesman loyal to Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, the head of the powerful Hashid tribal confederation.

Explosions were heard in the south of the capital for the first time. Witnesses said the army had shelled the home of Sheikh Hamid al-Ahmar, a leader of the opposition Islah party, in the Hadda district.

Later, a spokesman for the ruling General People's Congress party said at least two shells had hit a mosque in the presidential palace compound.

The BBC's Lina Sinjab said the situation in Sanaa was tense as people were worried it could turn into civil war

Tariq al-Shami told the AFP news agency that Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mujawar, speaker of parliament Yahya al-Rai and several other officials were wounded in the attack, which he blamed on the tribesmen.

"The Ahmar [tribe] have crossed all the red lines," he added.

Continue reading the main story Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar is the overall leader of the Hashid tribal confederation, one of the two main tribal groupings in YemenHis father Abdullah Bin Hussein al-Ahmar - who died in 2007 - founded the Islamist Islah opposition partySheikh Sadeq's brother Hamid al-Ahmar is a prominent businessman and leading member of Islah. He has repeatedly called for Mr Saleh's resignation Another brother, Sheikh Hussein Bin Abdullah al-Ahmar, resigned from President Saleh's Governing People's Council on 28 February over the shootings of protestersAl-Arabiya TV reported that Mr Rai was in a critical condition.

State news agency Saba said an imam who was leading Friday prayers at the time and three presidential guards were killed.

Earlier, troops set fire to the headquarters of Suhail TV, while state TV showed pictures of the burning offices of national airline Yemenia, blaming it on the tribesmen.

The defence ministry said special forces personnel led by Mr Saleh's son, Ahmed, had been deployed for the first time.

It said they would help "liberate" more than a dozen ministries and other government buildings occupied by the tribesmen.

Tribal sources meanwhile said several thousand tribesmen were heading to the capital from surrounding areas to join the fighting.

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