Pakistan rejects US murder claims

8 July 2011 Last updated at 11:10 GMT Saleem Shahzad had complained of ISI threats Pakistan has reacted angrily to the US army's top officer's suggestion that the government "sanctioned" the killing of journalist Saleem Shahzad.

Information minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Adm Mike Mullen's statement was "extremely irresponsible and regrettable."

She said it would cause difficulties in relations between the sides and prove a setback to the war against terror.

US-Pakistan relations have been extremely fraught in recent months.

But Adm Mike Mullen's remarks are the most explicit yet in a downward spiral in recent US-Pakistan relations.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says that for a senior American official to say that he believes the authorities were involved heaps further pressure on Islamabad at a time when the Pakistani government's relationship with Washington - on which it has become so reliant for support - is under serious strain.

Mr Shahzad was kidnapped near his home in Islamabad in May. His body was found two days later in Punjab province. At the time, many in the Pakistani media blamed Pakistan's powerful military intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), for the murder. The ISI has denied involvement in the case.

Adm Mullen said he could not confirm if the the ISI was involved.

"I have not seen anything that would disabuse that report that the government knew about this," Adm Mullen told journalists in Washington on Thursday.

"It was sanctioned by the government, yeah," he said.

Adm Mullen added that he did not have a "string of evidence" linking the death to the ISI.

Downward spiral

Pakistan's ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, said an independent inquiry was evidence that the government was taking the journalist's killing seriously. The government-appointed commission to investigate the killing began work last month.

Continue reading the main story M Ilyas Khan BBC News, Islamabad

Adm Mullen's latest salvo is being interpreted here as an attempt by the US to keep pressure on the Pakistani security establishment at a time when the latter is engaged in a vigorous PR campaign to project a softer image of the military.

US-Pakistan relations visibly deteriorated with the Raymond Davis affair in March, when a CIA agent shot and killed two Pakistani men. Two months later, US special forces killed Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani territory.

In subsequent weeks, there have been high-profile visits by US officials to Pakistan, creating an impression that both sides are determined to move on from their mutual troubles.

But Mr Mullen's statement indicates that differences between the two countries not only persist, they are becoming serious enough to warrant public accusation by a high-ranking US official that Pakistani government "sanctioned" the murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad.

"Any evidence that our American friends have should be shared with that commission," Mr Haqqani told the New York Times newspaper.

"We are as interested in getting to the bottom of this matter as anyone else in the world, given our concern about human rights," he said.

Tension between the US and Pakistan hit a new low after the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden by US commandos in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.

Last month, Adm Mullen publicly acknowledged that there would be substantial cuts to US military numbers in Pakistan.

He said that US-Pakistan ties needed time to heal but added that it would be dangerous to abandon Islamabad.

"I think the worst thing we could do would be cut them off," he said. If that happened, he said, "10 years from now, 20 years from now, we go back and it's much more intense and it's much more dangerous."

Correspondents say that during his tenure, Adm Mullen has been a forceful advocate for maintaining dialogue with Pakistan and with its military establishment.

He was said to be close to the Pakistani army's chief of staff, Gen Ashfaq Kayani. Indeed, Adm Mullen is thought to have made more visits to Pakistan than any other senior US official or chief of staff in recent times. But, correspondents say, the latest comments are yet more evidence of his patience wearing thin.

He steps down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff later this year.

Journalist 'danger' Continue reading the main story On 22 May a deadly 15-hour siege on Pakistan's Mehran naval airbase in Karachi left 16 deadOn 27 May Saleem Shahzad published a piece about al-Qaeda infiltration in Pakistan's navy A number of journalists have speculated that the attackers may have had inside helpAn ex-naval commando was arrested in connection with the attacks on 30 MayMr Shahzad, who worked for the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online and the Italian news agency Adnkronos International, had made a career writing about various Islamist militant networks operating in Pakistan.

Shortly before his death he had written an article about al-Qaeda infiltration in Pakistan's navy.

He reported that the militant group was behind a recent deadly assault on the Mehran base in Karachi because talks had failed over the release of several naval personnel arrested on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda affiliates.

Human rights groups have called Pakistan the most dangerous place in the world for journalists to operate, saying they were under threat from Islamist militants but also Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies.

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Former soap actor denies murder

8 July 2011 Last updated at 10:44 GMT Brian Regan denies murdering doorman Bahman Faraji Former Brookside actor Brian Regan has denied murdering a doorman outside a Liverpool pub.

The 53-year-old, who played Terry Sullivan in the soap, appeared via video-link at Liverpool Crown Court to deny murdering Bahman Faraji.

Mr Faraji, 44, was shot in the head as he left the Belgrave public house in Aigburth on 24 February.

Mr Regan, of St Mary's Road, Garston, also denied perverting the course of justice and was remanded until October.

Christine Line, 48, of the same address, denied perverting the course of justice.

Co-accused Edward Heffey, 40, of Beloe Street, Dingle, Liverpool, Lee Dodson, 42, of Logfield Drive, Garston, and Simon Smart, 32, of Kylemore Way, Liverpool, all pleaded not guilty to murder and were remanded into custody.

A date for a trial to take place at Liverpool Crown Court was set for 4 October.

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Nato accused of murder by Gaddafi

23 June 2011 Last updated at 02:29 GMT Nato said that close monitoring showed this bombed residence was a command centre, but the family who lived there said it was their home

Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has accused Nato states of murder, two days after members of the family of a close aide were killed in an air strike.

In an audio message broadcast on state TV late on Wednesday, he described those who carried out the bombardment as "criminals" and "barbarians".

Nato has said it regrets any civilian deaths, but that the targeted residence was a "command and control centre".

Italy's foreign minister earlier called for an immediate halt to hostilities.

Francisco Frattini said a ceasefire was necessary to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to the war-torn country.

He also urged Nato to provide more details of its aerial campaign and precise guidelines on "dramatic errors involving civilians".

But Nato's Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said the alliance's air campaign was protecting civilians and would continue.

He repeated that Nato was investigating Libyan reports that seven people had been killed in an air strike last week, but stressed that it was Col Gaddafi's forces, not Nato, who were targeting civilians.

'Back to the wall'

BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen, who is in Tripoli, says Col Gaddafi was as defiant as ever in his latest audio message.

He said Libyans would fight "foreign barbarians" and "crusaders" to the death.

Nato's secretary general said its air campaign was protecting civilians and would continue

The devil, he added, would be ashamed of the lies and allegations being made by Libya's enemies.

Col Gaddafi said he had his "back to the wall", but that the battle would "continue to the beyond, until you are wiped out".

Our correspondent says Col Gaddafi dwelt on the Nato air strike that destroyed the house of his close ally and adviser, al-Khuwailidi al-Humaidi, in Sorman on Monday.

Among the dead, who were buried a few hours before the speech, were three of Mr Humaidi's grandchildren and his daughter-in-law.

Nato said the attack was on a legitimate military target, as the house was a command centre. The Libyan government rejected the allegation.

Col Gaddafi referred to Nato's statement that its surveillance had provided conclusive proof. If the intelligence had been so good, he said, surely Nato would have known that children were living there.

"You said: 'We hit our targets with precision.' You murderers!" he said. "One day we will respond to you likewise and your homes, sons and children may become one day legitimate targets."

He called on the UN Security Council other than "the three criminals" - the US, UK and France - to send a mission to investigate the deaths of civilians in air strikes.

Nato's mission - to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians using "all necessary measures" short of a ground invasion - began in March in response to Col Gaddafi's violent response to an uprising.

The intervention was mandated by the UN Security Council, and led by France, Britain and the US until the end of March, when Nato took over.

Having initially been given 90 days - which would have run out on 27 June - the mission has been extended for a further 90 days.

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Murder mystery

21 June 2011 Last updated at 00:16 GMT By Tom Geoghegan BBC News, Washington DC For 20 years, crime in the US has been falling and new figures from the FBI show a sharp drop in the last two years, despite the recession. Why?

Through Democrat and Republican administrations and through booms and busts, crime has been falling since 1991.

There is little evidence the recession has influenced crime rates

Murder and robbery rates nearly halved from 1991-98, a phenomenon that has saved thousands of lives and spared many more potential victims of crime.

The pace of the reduction slowed in the late 90s but new FBI figures show the sharp drop in crime that began around 2008 continued last year, despite high unemployment.

No-one agrees on the reasons for this. Here are 10 possible theories.

1. The Obama effect could explain the increased pace of the reduction of the last few years, says one of the country's top criminologists, Alfred Blumstein. "The prior expectation was that the recession would have the opposite effect. The question then is what distinctive event occurred in '09?" The election of a black president could have inspired some young black men, who are disproportionately involved in arrests for robbery and homicide, says the professor. It's very speculative, he adds, and probably only one factor of many, as one of the cities with a huge drop in crime is Phoenix, in Arizona, which does not have a large black population. "In the field of criminology, you don't get consistent indicators as you would in physics. There are so many factors that could have contributed." A separate study on school test scores supports the view that some black teenagers were motivated to try harder by the new presidency.

2. The fall in violent crime that began in the early 90s can be partly explained by the fall in demand for crack, says Prof Blumstein, co-author of The Crime Drop in America. Word got round about the dangers of crack use and - aided by aggressive policing - the gun violence associated with its supply decreased. The converse had happened in 1985, when the incarceration of dealers led to a spiral of violence, as younger and more reckless suppliers took their place.

Continue reading the main story In 1982, social scientists argued that repairing vandalism in urban areas prevented further crime The New York Subway adopted this premise in the late 80sAnd then Mayor Rudy Giuliani (above) used it as part of his "zero tolerance" policySupporters of the theory point to falling crime rates in cities like NY as evidenceBut sceptics say crime fell in many cities over that period and it's hard to prove a link3. Smarter policing helped the border city of Laredo in Texas to reduce car theft by 40% last year. Police spokesman Joe Baeza says they introduced a scheme whereby motorists could register their car number plates into a police database and this empowered patrol cars to stop these cars if they were spotted late at night, to verify the owners. Mr Baeza adds that they also targeted car theft networks, educated the community about prevention and promoted anti-theft devices.

4. Number crunching has also helped in Laredo, where overall crime fell 16% last year, says Mr Baeza. "CompStat is a crime mapping project that pinpoints crime peaks in different parts of the city. The police chief then sends a team of officers to reinforce hotspots for burglaries or thefts or robberies, and they hold steady the flow of criminality." The CompStat methods began in New York City and featured heavily in gritty television drama The Wire, set in Baltimore.

5. There is a controversial theory put forward by economist Steven Levitt that the increased availability of legal abortion after the Supreme Court ruling in 1973 on Roe v Wade meant that fewer children were born to young, poor, single mothers. This, says the theory, stopped unwanted babies in the 1970s and 80s from becoming adolescent criminals in the decades that followed. But some of his peers have questioned whether the evidence really supports the theory.

6. A sociologist at Tufts University, John Conklin, says a significant factor behind the fall in crime in the 1990s was the fact that more criminals were behind bars and therefore unable to offend. In his book Why Crime Rates Fell, he says sentencing was lenient in the 60s and 70s, when crime rose, and then more prisons were built and more offenders were imprisoned. But others question why crime has continued to fall recently when budget constraints have kept the prison population relatively flat.

Continue reading the main story There are several sources of crime figures and they all point to a decline in violenceHospital admissions for violent injury have been falling for 10 yearsThe British Crime Survey indicates a 7% drop in 20107. An economist at Amherst College in Massachusetts links the fall in violent crime to a decline in children's exposure to lead in petrol. Jessica Wolpaw Reyes says: "Even low to moderate levels of exposure can lead to behavioural problems, reduced IQ, hyperactivity and juvenile delinquency. You can link the decline in lead between 1975 and 1985 to a decline in violent crime 20 years later." About 90% of American children in the 1970s had blood levels that would today cause concern, she says. Her research also found a link at state level between the timing of laws banning lead and subsequent crime statistics.

8. The baby boomers grew up. With birth rates peaking between 1957 and 1961, the proportion of men in the US in their late teens and early 20s was highest the late 70s and early 80s. As time went on, the proportion of people at "criminal age" decreased.

9. A study released last month suggested video games were keeping young people off the streets and therefore away from crime. Researchers in Texas working with the Centre for European Economic Research said this "incapacitation effect" more than offset any direct impact the content of the games may have had in encouraging violent behaviour.

10. Some people have suggested to Professor Blumstein there is another technological deterrent and that is the proliferation of camera phones, which makes some criminals think twice before risking possible incrimination on film. The impact of other kinds of cameras is unclear. In the UK, the influence of CCTV on crime is disputed.

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Brazil Amazon sees another murder

15 June 2011 Last updated at 08:47 GMT Small-scale farmers are often in conflict with illegal loggers in the Amazon A rural worker has been shot dead in Brazil's Amazon - the sixth murder in a month in the region, amid conflicts over land and logging.

The body of Obede Loyla Souza was found in dense forest close to his home in the northern state of Para.

The 31-year-old had argued with illegal loggers in the area, the Catholic Church's Pastoral Land Commission said.

Violence in the Amazon prompted the Brazilian government last month to offer more protection for activists.

Police believe Mr Souza was killed last week, but news of his death was only confirmed on Tuesday.

He was found close to his home in a settlement for landless rural workers near the town of Pacaja.

'Marked man'

The Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) said Mr Souza had received death threats after a run-in with loggers, who were reportedly cutting down trees illegally.

"There is in this region a really dangerous group of loggers," Hilario Lopes Costa from the CPT told the Associated Press.

"He had a fight with one of them over the cutting of these trees and he was a marked man from then on."

Local residents told the CPT they had seen four people in a pick-up truck drive to the camp where Mr Souza lived.

Forensic tests showed he was killed by a shot to the head.

Since May, there have been six murders in the states of Para and Rondonia.

Police say not all were linked to land disputes.

However, some of those targeted had been threatened.

Joao Claudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife, Maria do Espirito Santo were found murdered on a nature reserve near Maraba in Para state, where they had been working for the past 24 years.

According to family and friends, the couple had received numerous threats in the past two years for their environmental activism.

Their deaths were followed days later by the killing of rural leader Adelino Ramos in Porto Velho, capital of Rondonia.

The government said it would increase protection for those activists considered most at risk and boost co-operation with state governments to tackle the violence.

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India mothers charged with murder

16 May 2011 Last updated at 13:28 GMT Police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have filed preliminary charges against two women accused of killing their daughters.

The women, who were neighbours and are both Muslim, were reportedly furious with their daughters for eloping with Hindu men, police told the BBC.

Zahida, 19, and Husna, 26, were strangled last week after they returned home to make peace with their families.

The two mothers are yet to make an official response to the accusations.

One of the accused is quoted by the Indian Express newspaper as saying after being arrested, "How could they elope with Hindus? They deserved to die. We have no remorse."

Police say they are still trying to ascertain if the women assisted each other.

Zahida and Husna fell in love with two Hindu construction workers and eloped and got married before returning home to the town of Baghpat last week. Their mothers were arrested by police on Friday.

Correspondents say that marriages between Hindus and Muslims are not common in India. In rural areas especially they are frowned upon by both communities.

Last week India's Supreme Court ruled that people convicted of so-called honour killings should face the death penalty.

"It is time to stamp out these barbaric, feudal practices which are a slur on our nation," the court said.

According to one recent study, hundreds of people are killed each year in India for falling in love or marrying against their families' wishes.

Convictions for so-called honour killings usually carry life sentences.

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