A suicide bomber wrought havoc at the funeral of two Sunni Arab militia members in north Iraq yesterday, killing at least 50 people, and injuring another 50, amid an upsurge of attacks against anti al-Qaida security groups.
On Tuesday bombings killed at least 60 people in four cities in mainly Sunni areas in central and northern Iraq.
The target yesterday was a funeral attended by several local Sunni tribal chiefs in the village of Albu Mohammed, in the violent Diyala province, about 90 miles north of Baghdad.
– The Guardian
The new head of the crisis-hit Serious Fraud Office, Richard Alderman, emerged for his first media outing yesterday to say, in effect, “Crisis, what crisis?”
Alderman, 55, a former head of tax investigations at the Inland Revenue, takes over next week, four days before he is due at the high court to respond to the landmark decision in the BAE case.
Lord Justice Moses and Lord Justice Sullivan ruled that the SFO had betrayed the rule of law when his predecessor, Robert Wardle, allowed a foreign potentate, Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, to dictate that its bribery investigations into him should be called off.
– The Guardian
A Chinese cargo ship believed to be carrying 77 tonnes of small arms, including more than 3m rounds of ammunition, AK47 assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, has docked in the South African port of Durban for transportation of the weapons to Zimbabwe, the South African government confirmed yesterday. It claimed it was powerless to intervene as long as the ship’s papers were in order.
Copies of the documentation for the Chinese ship, the An Yue Jiang, show that the weapons were sent from Beijing to the ministry of defence in Harare. Headed “Dangerous goods description and container packing certificate”, the document was issued on April 1, three days after Zimbabwe’s election. It lists the consignment as including 3.5m rounds of ammunition for AK47 assault rifles and for small arms, 1,500 40mm rockets, 2,500 mortar shells of 60mm and 81mm calibre, as well as 93 cases of mortar tubes.
– The Guardian
Sachin Tendulkar, one of the world’s most famous sportsmen, pulled out of the Olympic torch relay yesterday on the eve of its procession through Delhi in one of the biggest blows yet to China’s build-up to the Beijing Games.
India’s top cricket star confirmed his decision as 15,000 security personnel prepared to shut down the city centre to prevent Tibetan exiles from disrupting the parade.
– The Times
A controlled explosion was carried out early today after a man was arrested under the Terrorism Act, police said.
About 30 people were evacuated from their homes in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, during the operation.
A 19-year-old from the area was arrested in connection with the investigation yesterday afternoon.
Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Roberts said: “It was a controlled explosion and the materials will be sent off for analysis”.
– The Independent
