Replies

(KMOV) -- A year and a half ago, a 19-year-old Florissant woman became the first female from Missouri to die during the Iraq war.

Private Lavena Johnson

The military was quick to point out that her death was not combat related.

Since then, her parents have struggled to find out what really happened to their daughter.

News 4’s Matt Sczesny took a close look at the evidence gathered by the military and asks the question, “was it murder or suicide?"

Among the thousands of graves at Jefferson Barracks cemetery there are stories of bravery, heroism, and proud service.

Among the thousands is the grave of Private Lavena Johnson, whose story is clouded in mystery and according to her parents, marred by murder and cover-up.

Lavena's father, Dr. John Johnson, has waged his own personal crusade to find out what really happened to his daughter in Iraq on July 19, 2005.

The army ruled her death a suicide, the victim of a gunshot wound to the head.

In documents and autopsy photos obtained by the Johnson family and shared with News 4, more questions are raised than answered.

One strange fact was that Lavena was apparently abused, physically, and the autopsy didn't address the physical trauma to her body.

Military documents also show no apparent indication of suicide, her company commander wrote that Johnson was clearly happy and healthy physically and emotionally, something her mother knew by a phone conversation the day before she died.

Johnson's parents also question how their daughter at 5’1”, could handle a 40 inch M-16 to kill herself while sitting.

In fact, a military laboratory even concluded that based on a gunshot residue test, Johnson may not have even handled the weapon.

Additionally, Johnson's military debit card was never found, even though she used it two hours before her death to buy candy.

No bullet was ever found where she died, and a trail of blood is seen in photos outside the tent. Even stranger, it appears as if someone tried to set her body on fire.

So if it wasn't a suicide as the Army maintains, then how did Lavena Johnson die?

Based on the autopsy photos, her father believes that she was raped.

The military is unconvinced and consider the case closed.

A Pentagon spokesman says that the case was investigated thoroughly and that there is no evidence to reopen.

News 4 tried for weeks to get the Army to say more about the death of Private Johnson, but they're only response is that the investigation is closed.

Certainly the documents military investigators have gathered seem to say a lot more.

Johnson's father is now trying to have her body exhumed at Jefferson Barracks to have an independent autopsy performed.

http://www.kmov.com/news/asseenonnews4/stories/kmov_localnews_070221_lavenajohnson.229c4b1a.html

To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54451

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Plowshares beaten into swords in Gaza
Palestinians: 'Looting and burning' of Jewish holy sites 'was a great joy'
Posted: February 27, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

One of two main Neve Dekalim synagogues desecrated by Palestinian looters (WND photo)
TEL AVIV – The ruins of two large synagogues in Gush Katif, the evacuated Jewish communities of the Gaza Strip, have been transformed into a military base used by Palestinian groups to fire rockets at Israeli cities and train for attacks against the Jewish state, according to a senior terror leader in Gaza.

When Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in August 2005, it left in tact 20 synagogues of the Gush Katif Jewish communities following an Israeli Cabinet decision against demolishing the structures.

Immediately after the Israeli evacuation was completed, Palestinians mobs destroyed most of the Gaza synagogues, including two major synagogues in Neve Dekalim, the largest Gush Katif community. In front of international camera crews, the Palestinians ripped off aluminum window frames and metal ceiling fixtures from the Neve Dekalim synagogues, which were situation close to each other in the center of town. Militants flew the Palestinian and Hamas flags from the structures before mobs burned down the synagogues.

Speaking to WND from Gaza, Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees terrorist organization, said the area where the synagogues once stood now is used to fire rockets at Israel.

"We are proud to turn these lands, especially these parts that were for long time the symbol of occupation and injustice, like the synagogue, into a military base and source of fire against the Zionists and the Zionist entity," Abu Abir said.

(Story continues below)

"The liberated lands of the destroyed ugly and Nazi settlements [Gush Katif] is our property, and we have the right to do whatever we feel is suitable for the struggle against the occupation and for the general interest of the Palestinian people," the Committees leader said.

The Committees is a coalition of terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank responsible for launching hundreds of rockets from Gaza aimed at nearby Jewish towns. The group is accused of bombing a U.S. convoy in Gaza in 2003 in which three American government contractors were killed.

Abu Abir blamed the Palestinian desecration of the Gaza synagogues on the Jewish state, claiming the decision to leave the structures in tact was part of an Israeli conspiracy.

"The Zionists left these so called synagogues in order to make that one day media outlets like WorldNetDaily would raise the pathetic and rude argument about what we have done to the poor Zionists holy places. (Israel) left the synagogues behind so the world would see the Palestinians destroying them," Abu Abir said.

The terrorist leader claimed the mob destruction of the synagogues was not planned but was a spontaneous outburst of "happiness."

"The looting and burning of the synagogues was a great joy. There was no intention to desecrate them but this was part of the great joy the young men had when they destroyed everything that could remind us of the occupation. It was in an unplanned expression of happiness that these synagogues were destroyed."

Jews celebrating in Neve Dekalim synagogue (WND photo)

Prior to the Gaza withdrawal, Israel's Supreme Court ruled the Gaza synagogues should be bulldozed by the Israeli army, citing what it said was previous Palestinian desecrations of other religions' holy sites as justification for the synagogue demolitions. But then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who said he opposed the demolitions, put the decision to Cabinet vote. The Cabinet decided against destroying the structures.

Israel's chief rabbinate had petitioned the Supreme Court to halt the synagogue destructions, arguing the demolitions contravene Jewish law. Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen, a member of the chief rabbinate, explained to WND at the time: "According to Jewish law, synagogues cannot be destroyed unless new ones are already built, and even then, the issues are complicated. Here, the former Gaza residents don't have homes yet to live in, new synagogues have not been built, so there isn't even a question."

The senior rabbis also expressed fear Jews in other parts of the world may use bulldozings of the Gaza synagogues as precedent to destroy other abandoned synagogues.

Upon being informed of the current status of the synagogue ruins, Dror Venunu, a former Gush Katif resident who said he prayed daily at the Neve Dekalim synagogues, told WND he was "sick to his stomach."

"It sends pain straight to my heart and makes me sick to my stomach. In any other part of world this would be unacceptable, but where is the media? Where is the international outcry condemning use of a holy site for terrorism?" commented Venunu, who is the international coordinator for the Gush Katif Committee, a major charity organization representing Gaza's former Jewish residents, most of whom are living in temporary housing units.

Do you like hard-hitting news? Then you should plan to attend NEWS EXPO 2007 featuring Ann Coulter!

Aaron Klein joins News Expo lineup

To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54450

Monday, February 26, 2007
THE HEAT IS ON
Gore home's energy use: 20 times average
Tennessee think tank presents former veep's own 'inconvenient truth'
Posted: February 26, 2007
5:49 p.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Al Gore
Al Gore deserves an Oscar for hypocrisy to go along with the two Academy Awards his movie won last night, contends a think tank from his home state Tennessee.

The former vice president's mansion in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, says the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, citing data from the Nashville Electric Service.

Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth, a 95-minute film warning of a coming cataclysm due to man-made "global warming," won the award for best documentary feature and best song.

(Story continues below)

"My fellow Americans, people all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis," Gore said after taking the stage. "It's not a political issue, it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started, with the possible exception of the will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it."

Standing with Gore on the stage last night, actor Leonardo DiCaprio said, to applause, "The American film industry has always taken its obligations to society very seriously and it's now stepping up once again. Tonight, we're proud to announce that for the first time in the history of the Oscars, this show has officially gone green.

Gore then followed with, "Which means that environmentally intelligent practices have been integrated fully into every aspect of the planning and production of these Academy Awards. And you know what: It is not as hard as you might think. We have a long way to go. But all of us can do something in our own lives to make a difference."

But according to the Tennessee think tank, while the average American household consumed 10,656 kilowatt-hours last year, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 – more than 20 times the national average.

Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson said that "as the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use."

Last August alone, according to Johnson' group, Gore burned through 22,619 kilowatt-hours of electricity, more than twice the amount in one month that an average American family uses in an entire year.

Gore's average monthly electric bill, the think tank says, is $1,359.

Since the release of Gore's film, the former vice president and presidential candidate's energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kilowatt-hours per month in 2005, to 18,400 per month in 2006.

The Tennessee group also points out natural gas bills for Gore's mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

Gore paid a total of nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

Responding to critics, Gore has described the lifestyle he and his wife Tipper live as "carbon neutral," meaning he tries to offset any plane flight or car trip by "purchasing verifiable reductions in CO2 elsewhere."

To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54427

Monday, February 26, 2007
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
'Devastating response' if Iran nukes attacked
Terrorists say Tehran providing instructions in case U.S., Israel strike atomic facilities
Posted: February 26, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

JERUSALEM – Iran is anticipating a U.S. or Israeli military strike on its nuclear facilities and has been providing Palestinian terrorists and other regional allies with contingency plans for attacks against the Jewish state and American regional interests in the event of war, according to Palestinian terrorist leaders.

A senior leader of the Islamic Jihad terror group, which Israel says is backed by Iran, told WND Tehran is expecting to be attacked, but he didn't provide a time frame in which Iran anticipates a strike.

(Story continues below)

He claimed during any attack his organization has been directed by Iran to "wreak havoc" on Israel with suicide bombings, rocket attacks and "special surprises." He said rocket attacks would be launched from both the Gaza Strip and from the West Bank, which borders Jerusalem.

He threatened his terror group will target American interests in the Middle East whether any purported strike against Tehran is carried out by Israel or the U.S.

"The Zionists and the Americans are coordinated 100 percent. It doesn't matter who attacks Iran, we are planning to hit them both," said the Islamic Jihad leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he said the topic was "very sensitive."

He said overall Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah has been coordinating war plans with Iran, Syria and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Lebanese militia. Shallah resides in Damascus and travels frequently to Tehran.

Abu Ahmed, the northern West Bank chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror organization, told WND all major Palestinian militant organizations are preparing to work together in the event Iran is attacked.

"Our strategy is not to leave the Islamic alliance (Iran) alone against the enemy. All Palestinian organizations will work together in shooting rockets, suicide bomb attacks and other steps and actions decided closely."

The Brigades is the declared military wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party. Together with Islamic Jihad, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the last two years, including a bombing last month in Eilat and an attack in Tel Aviv last April that killed eight Israelis and American teenager Daniel Wultz.

Israel says major Brigades cells in the Gaza Strip and West Bank receive Iranian funding through contacts with Hezbollah.

Abu Ahmed said in his terror group's estimation Iran will indeed be attacked.

"It's not a question of if, but when. The campaign now in the American media is just like the campaign before the invasion of Iraq," he charged.

A senior leader of the Popular Resistance Committees terror group, speaking on condition of anonymity, told WND his group has also been preparing for what he called "the upcoming war."

The Committees is a coalition of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank responsible for hundreds of anti-Israel rocket and shooting attacks. It is accused of bombing a U.S. convoy in Gaza in 2003 in which three American government contractors were killed.

"We are preparing the tomb that Allah is digging for the Zionists and Americans," said the Committees leader.

He claimed during any U.S. or Israeli military strike against Tehran, a response will be directed against Israel and American interests by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists.

"The war will be a war on more than one front. It will be everybody against everybody. Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and the Palestinian organizations will work together. War with Iran is coming and it means the Middle East will not remain the same after it," the Committees leader said.

Syria and Iran signed a military agreement in which either will respond if the other is attacked.

Israeli security officials told WND Israel is not currently planning to strike Iran. Speaking theoretically, they said if any war breaks out involving Iran, they expect Syria, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists to join the fray and attack Israel.

The security officials said the greatest threat Syria poses to the Jewish state are the country's missiles. They noted Syria recently test-fired two Scud-D surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range of about 250 miles, covering most Israeli territory. The officials said the Syrian missile test was coordinated with Iran and is believed to have been successful. It is not known what type of warhead the missiles were armed with.

In addition to longer range Scuds, Syria is in possession of shorter range missiles such as 220mm and 305mm rockets, some of which have been passed on to Hezbollah.

According to information received by Israel, Russia is set to conclude a deal worth several hundred million dollars transferring thousands of advanced antitank missiles to Syria. Antitank missiles used by Hezbollah during Israel's war in Lebanon this past summer devastated Israeli tanks and caused the highest number of Israeli troop casualties during the 34 days of military confrontations.

Last week, a senior officer from the intelligence unit of the Israeli Defense Forces announced Hezbollah is stronger today than before the 2006 Lebanon war.

"Hezbollah has reinforced and it is stronger today than it was before the war in Lebanon," General Yossi Beidatz, head of the IDF's intelligence research department, told the Knesset.

During the war in Lebanon, Hezbollah fired more than 3,000 rockets into northern Israel, killing 39 civilians and devastating many northern towns.

Beidatz also said Syria is reinforcing its military to prepare for the possibility of a new armed conflict in the region.

According to reports in the Israeli media, Syria, aided by Iranian officers, has been boosting its army and navy. The reports, denied by Damascus, claimed Syria last week was moving troops closer to the border with Israel.

The claim by Palestinian terrorists Iran is preparing for war come as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday his country's nuclear program cannot stop while a deputy foreign minister vowed Tehran was prepared for any eventuality, "even for war."

"Iran has obtained the technology to produce nuclear fuel and Iran's move is like a train ... which has no brake and no reverse gear," Ahmadinejad said, according to Iranian state media.

Manouchehr Mohammadi, a deputy at Iran's foreign ministry commented, "We have prepared ourselves for any situation, even for war."

Iranian military commanders have said recent war games, the latest of which involved testing several missiles this month, show Iran's readiness to counter any attack.

Meanwhile U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said over the weekend Iran's atomic ambitions must be curbed. He told reporters "all options" were on the table.

During a visit to Australia, Cheney said it would be a "serious mistake" to allow Iran to become a nuclear power. An Australian newspaper quoted Cheney endorsing comments by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that the only thing worse than a military confrontation with Iran would be a nuclear-armed Iran.

Iran ignored last week's United Nations deadline to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to fuel for nuclear power plants or produce material for warheads. Tehran claims it wants to negotiate but has repeatedly ruled out suspending its atomic program.

To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54424

Saturday, February 24, 2007
FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN
How Iraq terrorists
target Prince Harry
Iran-backed Mahdi army obtains
super-sensitive Promis software
Posted: February 24, 2007
8:30 p.m. Eastern

Editor's note: The following report is excerpted from a breaking story in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by the founder of WND. The complete report is available to subscribers. Annual subscriptions are $99, while monthly trial subscriptions cost $9.95 for credit card users. Both subscriptions provide instant access to G2 Bulletin.

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Prince Harry (British Army photo)
LONDON – New concerns for Prince Harry's safety have emerged with MI6's discovery that the Iran-backed Mahdi army has obtained a version of the super-sensitive, U.S.-created Promis software, according to a breaking report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The software provides access to databases on specific targets. It is equipped with artificial intelligence, which can analyze tens of millions of snippets of information in seconds to create a sophisticated overall picture that can both identify and predict the actions of a target.

The software was originally sold by a renegade FBI agent, Robert Hanssen. For years he had been a KGB spy inside the FBI. Before he was arrested in 2001, he had passed the FBI version of Promis to his handlers in Moscow. Hanssen is now serving a 20-year sentence for espionage in America's top security prison at Florence in Colorado.

Bill Hamilton, the creator of the software and head of the company, Inslaw, which markets it to U.S. intelligence agencies, said the acquisition by terrorists of Promis through the Soviets "is a matter of deep concern."

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Hanssen's handlers sold a copy of Promis to Semyon Mogilevich, the head of Europe's notorious crime family, the Rising Sun, for $3 million.

In Tehran, the MI6 intelligence service has learned, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered his programmers to create a copy of the software.

(Story continues below)

Last week it emerged it was in the hands of the radical Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, in Iraq. He heads the powerful Mahdi army fighting coalition forces.

The discovery was made by the MI6 codebreakers who had smashed al-Qaida's communications system.

On the Mahdi army website – whose encryption the codebreakers bypassed – was further proof that Promis was in its hands.

A message said: "Allah has given us the means from our friends in Iran to locate the infidel prince and bring his end at the hands of our courageous fighters."

Prince Harry has been personally updated on the threat by John Scarlett, head of MI6.

Since the announcement that Harry, 22, will go to Iraq in April, Scarlett has made a regular journey in an unmarked government saloon from his MI6 headquarters at Vauxhall Cross overlooking the Thames.

Thirty minutes later he enters Clarence House, the London palace Harry shares with his brother, William. The spymaster and Harry meet in the salon where his late mother, Diana, princess of Wales, delivered her revelation for the BBC's now notorious program, "Panorama," which marked the end of her marriage to Prince Charles.

A senior intelligence source stressed that Scarlett does not meet Harry to dissuade him from going to Iraq.

"Harry has made his decision that, come what may, he is going," said a senior intelligence officer. "Scarlett's job is to make sure the prince knows everything possible. It is safe to assume Harry asks the kind of questions he put during his intel classes at Sandhurst. He will probably be the best informed soldier in Iraq on the state of play."

For the complete report, and an earlier story about how al-Qaida plans to target Prince Harry, subscribe to Joseph Farah's G2

US 200-year porn sentence stands
By James Westhead
BBC News, Washington

The US Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by a high school teacher from Arizona sentenced to 200 years in jail for possessing child pornography.

Morton Berger had claimed the sentence was so disproportionate to his crime it breached the constitution.

If the 52-year-old had been tried in a federal court or lived elsewhere he would have received a lighter sentence.

But he was living in Arizona when he was caught with thousands of images of child abuse on his computer.

Stark differences

The state has the nation's toughest laws on child abuse and exploitation.

Indeed, the prosecutor had asked for a 340-year sentence but the trial judge imposed the minimum of 10 years for each of 20 images - to be served consecutively for a total of 200 years without the possibility of probation, early release or pardon.

Mr Berger's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal.

They argued the sentence was wildly disproportionate - much longer than that for rape or even second degree murder and claimed it amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

The state of Arizona argued each image of child abuse was a separate crime so the sentences had to run consecutively.

The Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal and gave no reason but the case has highlighted stark differences in sentencing policy across the US.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6399471.stm

Published: 2007/02/27 06:24:20 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Guatemala murders raise more questions
By Mike Lanchin
BBC Latin America analyst

In the latest twist in an increasingly complex case of the gruesome murder of three Salvadorean politicians, allegedly assassinated by corrupt Guatemalan police officers, the four main suspects have themselves been shot dead in jail.

A spokeswoman for the Guatemalan national police confirmed late on Sunday the deaths of the four men, identified as Luis Arturo Herrera, head of the police's organised crime unit, and three of his officers.

Maria Jose Fernandez said that she did not know who had killed the men, who were being held at the notoriously violent El Boqueron prison, 70km (43 miles) east of Guatemala City.

Initial reports from the scene, quoted in a Salvadorean newspaper on Monday, said that hired assassins had entered the jail during visiting time and had carried out the killings during a power cut later that same day.

However, police said that a riot had broken out in the prison on Sunday afternoon, initiated by members of the violent Mara Salvatrucha gang who dominate the jail, although they could not say whether the four victims were shot during or after the disturbances began.

One member of the Mara Salvatrucha told reporters by telephone from inside the prison that they had rioted out of fear of being blamed for the police officers' deaths.

By late Sunday the rioters were still holding a number of hostages inside the jail complex.

Theories

Luis Herrera and his fellow officers were arrested on 22 February for the abduction and murder of Salvadorean of the politicians William Pichinte, Eduardo D'Aubuisson and Jose Ramon Gonzalez - all members of El Salvador's ruling Arena party - and their driver.

Their charred bodies had been found three days earlier on the outskirts of Guatemala City, where they had been due to arrive on a visit from El Salvador.

As the days have gone by there have been a wide variety of versions circulating about why they were targeted.

Early reports suggested that it was a political killing, since Eduardo D'Aubuisson was the son of Roberto D'Aubuisson, the man was widely believed to have run El Salvador's right-wing death squads in the 1980s.

Other sources quoted by the Guatemalan press said the victims had been carrying drug money in a hidden compartment in one of their vehicles and were killed as part of a vendetta between rival gangs.

The head of the presidential human rights office in Guatemala, Frank LaRue, told the BBC he could not confirm or deny that version, but said that he was convinced "organised crime" was behind the killings.

He also confirmed that his government had requested help in the investigations from the FBI.

'Weakness'

For his part, El Salvador's chief of police, Rodrigo Avila, has said he believes the three politicians and their driver were killed "by mistake", and that the assassins were "tricked" into believing they were targeting drug traffickers by those who had hired them.

Mr Avila also said that on their arrest, the four police officers had confessed to their interrogators, a version that was later denied by the Guatemalan authorities.

However, GPS tracking devices in the police officers' car appeared to link them directly to scene of the crime.

With the suspected gunmen now dead, investigations will now centre on the larger question of who was behind the killings.

The ability to assassinate high-profile politicians in broad daylight and then order the death in custody of the principal suspects, suggests a powerful and well-organised criminal syndicate is involved.

Mr LaRue said that infiltration of the Guatemalan police by organised crime was nothing new and reflected the continuing weakness of the security apparatus in the country.

Neither was it the first time, he said, that politicians from Central America had become caught up in criminal activities - if that were indeed the case.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6397209.stm

Published: 2007/02/26 17:49:44 GMT

© BBC MMVII

'Guatemala mafia killed officers'
Guatemalan President Oscar Berger says he believes organised criminal gangs were behind the killing of four police officers who were being held in prison.

They had been detained over suspected involvement in last week's killing of three visiting Salvadorean politicians.

The officers were shot by armed men who penetrated a maximum security facility, sparking a 12-hour riot among inmates.

Authorities have now arrested the jail's director and 21 employees, including prison guards.

Investigators are trying to determine how armed men managed to enter the prison and kill the four policemen.

Witnesses said they had seen armed men entering the prison after visitors were forced to leave by the guards, the Associated Press reported.

The policemen were gunned down on Sunday inside the Boqueron prison in Cuilapa, some 70km (40 miles) east of Guatemala City.

One of those killed was the head of the country's organised crime unit, Luis Arturo Herrera, and three of his colleagues.

President Berger said the murders of the policemen had robbed prosecutors of key evidence about the killing of the three Salvadoreans.

Eight locked doors

Mr Berger said that the gunmen had managed to get through eight locked doors to reach the inmates, who had already been moved from one prison because their lives were believed to be at risk.

He said it remained unclear if the deaths of the policemen were linked to drug trafficking or other organised crime.

The US authorities estimate that much of the cocaine entering the US comes via Guatemala.

US President George W Bush is due to travel to Guatemala in March and it is expected that the growing drugs trade will be high on the agenda.

El Salvador's chief human rights prosecutor, Beatrice de Carrillo, said the audacity of the killings revealed a culture of impunity.

"There are some people, with a power so great, that they can allow themselves this luxury and, at the same time, they so fear the truth that they prefer a deed like this to it coming out," she was quoted as saying by the Spanish news agency, Efe.

The killings in the prison, which is occupied mostly by street gang members, sparked a 12-hour riot during which five people, including the prison director were taken hostage.

It ended only after the inmates were allowed to tell a television crew that they had not been behind the killings of the four police officers.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6399381.stm

Published: 2007/02/27 01:49:33 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Afghan base hit as Cheney visits
At least 19 people have been killed and 10 injured in a suicide attack outside Afghanistan's main US base during a visit by US Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Mr Cheney, on an unannounced visit to the region, was staying at the Bagram base, 60km (40 miles) from Kabul.

The US military said the blast did not seem to be aimed at the vice-president, who was safely inside at the time.

A spokesman for the Taleban telephoned the BBC to say his group carried out the attack.

A US spokesman described it as a "direct attack" on the base, which was put on red alert for a while.

Most of the dead were labourers queuing for daily jobs at the base, but at least one US soldier was killed.

"The vice-president is fine," said Mr Cheney's spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride.

Mr Cheney had breakfast with troops at the base and left about 90 minutes after the blast. He is now in Kabul for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

A meeting between the two men scheduled for Monday had been delayed because of heavy snow.

Rare incident

His visit comes amid increasing concern about insurgent activity in several regions of the country.

But the BBC's Charles Haviland in Kabul says Bagram is one of the most heavily guarded sites in Afghanistan and such incidents there are extremely rare.

The surrounding territory is heavily mined and people, including children, have frequently been injured by such devices.

Officials said the explosion occurred between the outside security gate and an inner gate guarded by US troops, some distance from living quarters at the base.

A trader in a market outside the base described the explosion as "huge", saying it shook market stalls.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6399527.stm

Published: 2007/02/27 07:56:12 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Cleric loses deportation appeal
Radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada has lost his appeal against a Home Office move to deport him to Jordan.

The home secretary welcomed the ruling, seen as the first test of a policy that seeks assurances deportees in terror cases will not be abused on return.

The alleged al-Qaeda figure's lawyers said he could face torture at home but the UK said he was a security threat.

Qatada, who has been convicted in Jordan for terror attacks, is to seek leave to appeal the deportation ruling.

Human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce said it was a "profoundly important appeal" that could have ramifications across the world.

Qatada, 45, has spent most of the past five years in prison in the UK under anti-terrorism and immigration laws.

'Right balance'

The judgment by Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) chairman Mr Justice Ouseley said members had concluded there was "no real risk of persecution of [Qatada]" on his return.

The case is significant because the government has been trying to secure deportations to countries accused of torture by securing special agreements that deportees will not be abused.

The agreement - called Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) - signed between the UK government and Jordan in 2005, aimed to guarantee that anyone deported to the country would not face torture or ill-treatment.

If there is evidence... have a fair trial in this country
Gareth Peirce, human rights lawyer

Critics claim the MOU is meaningless, with director of civil rights group Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, saying "paper promises" were not enough.

"Dodgy little 'assurances' from regimes that practise torture convince few outside government," she said.

But a lawyer for the home secretary, Ian Burnett QC, had said it would be "extraordinary" if Jordan did not comply with its diplomatic assurances.

Mr Reid said the government was "pleased" the court had recognised the value of MOUs.

"It is our firm belief that these agreements strike the right balance between allowing us to deport individuals who threaten the security of this country and safeguarding the rights of these individuals on their return."

Spiritual adviser

Qatada's legal team claimed in Siac hearings last May that part of the government's case against him was based on evidence extracted by torture.

But on Monday the Siac members dismissed the case put by Qatada, also known as Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman.

Siac accepted Qatada had "long-established connections with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda" and that he "held sway over extremists".

"He has given advice to many terrorist groups and individuals, whether formerly a spiritual adviser to them or not. His reach and the depth of his influence in that respect is formidable, even incalculable." the judgment said.

Ms Peirce said the ruling would mean sending Qatada to a "flagrant denial of justice", with the prospect of trial by a military court using evidence obtained from torture.

TERROR SUSPECT DEPORTATIONS
Already deported: Six to Algeria, one to France
Awaiting deportation: 23
Of which:
Four already lost appeals
Three withdrawn appeals
16 awaiting hearings or decisions
Source: Home Office

"We say it would be so grotesquely unreconcilable with the concept of justice that it would constitute a complete denial of our responsibilities - to deport on that basis with that known prospect."

She added: "We understand that this decision is being monitored and watched by a number of other countries who are considering deporting individuals to regimes where they know they will be tortured."

Amnesty International UK campaigns director Tim Hancock said the group was "profoundly concerned" Siac had discounted evidence showing the risk of torture if Qatada was returned to Jordan.

This included material documenting the "routine infliction of torture on 'security suspects' in Jordan...a practice which continues with impunity".

Qatada became one of the UK's most wanted men in December 2001 when he went on the run on the eve of government moves to introduce new anti-terror laws.

The Palestinian-Jordanian has always publicly distanced himself from claims of links to al-Qaeda and insists he has never met its leader, Osama Bin Laden.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/6396447.stm

Published: 2007/02/26 15:56:20 GMT

© BBC MMVII

French killed in Saudi shooting
Three French nationals have been shot dead in Saudi Arabia and at least one other seriously wounded, the Saudi and French governments say.

Saudi sources told the BBC that police were treating the incident as a "terrorist attack".

The shooting happened near the ruins of Madain Saleh, in north-western Saudi Arabia, which is popular with tourists.

Saudi TV said the victims were part of a group of French nationals, some of whom were Muslims heading to Mecca.

But a French diplomat confirmed to the French news agency AFP that none of those shot was Muslim.

Major General Mansour al-Turki, a Saudi interior ministry spokesman, said two men were killed instantly as they rested at the side of the road and came under fire from gunmen.

Another died later in hospital and a fourth was in serious condition, he said.

Some women and children were also part of the group, but were not hurt, he added.

A French diplomatic source, quoted by the French news agency AFP, said an unknown number of attackers "machine-gunned them while they got out [of their vehicle] to go for a walk".

Violent campaign

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said in a statement that "several of our compatriots residing in Riyadh were the victims of an armed attack".

The French President Jacques Chirac described the attack as "hateful".

SAUDI ATTACKS ON FOREIGNERS
May 2003: Suicide bombers in Riyadh kill 35 people
May 2004: 22 civilians die in Khobar compound shootout
June 2004: Gunmen kill BBC cameraman Simon Cumbers and seriously injure correspondent Frank Gardner
June 2004: US contractor Paul Johnson beheaded
No fatal attacks since 2004
"I condemn with the utmost strength this horrible act," he said, promising to lend all support to the Saudi authorities in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the attack will come as a blow to the Saudi government, which has been fighting a successful campaign against Islamist militants since they launched a triple truck bombing in 2003.

A number of foreigners have been killed - including Frenchman Laurent Barbot, who was shot dead in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah by suspected al-Qaeda militants in September 2004.

But there have been no foreigners killed since late 2004.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6398395.stm

Published: 2007/02/27 00:20:51 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Anger over HIV scandal's child victims
By Natalia Antelava
BBC News, Shymkent, Kazakhstan

The hum of radio sets and the murmur of conversation, the odour of sewage and cooking rice all seeped through the thin walls of the dilapidated hallway.

An ageing Kazakh woman in a colourful headscarf put a finger to her wrinkled mouth, signalling us to be quiet, as she led us up stairs to her biggest secret.

The secret was a baby boy, fast asleep on a cheap mattress in a shabby room.

His chubby face looked healthy, peaceful and happily oblivious to the poverty and tragedy around him.

Sayat is 18 months old and he is HIV positive.

Anger and shame

His story dates back to February 2006, when he was taken to a hospital for a minor surgical procedure.

Most of us have lost not only children but husbands too
Aynura

It was there, his grandmother says, that he contracted pneumonia for which doctors prescribed a blood transfusion.

Seven months later in September 2006, HIV was discovered in blood banks across the region and Sayat became one of 93 children who tested positive for the virus.

Since then eight babies have died, 12 have infected their mothers and although health officials say they have now cleaned up the system, new cases continue to emerge all the time.

"I keep thinking what kind of future he could have, and I can't see any future for him," she says. "And I keep thinking why, why did this happen?"

Ninety-three families in Shymkent are asking the same questions.

Theirs is a story of anger, confusion and shame. In Central Asia, HIV is not just a disease, it is also a huge stigma.

Fearful of their neighbours, most families refuse to speak to journalists. Those who do, do not want their names revealed or their children filmed.

Thirty-two-year-old Aynura no longer has a child and, she says, she has nothing to lose.

She sits up straight in her chair, staring at photos of a once happy family. Not only is her son dead, but her husband has also left her.

"He does not believe that I don't have HIV," Aynura says "Most of us have lost not only children, but husbands too."

A profitable business

This unprecedented outbreak has already destroyed dozens of lives, it has revealed a corrupt and reckless healthcare system and, in a region where HIV infection rates are rapidly growing, it has also raised some pressing questions.

Among them is why blood transfusions are so popular here.

The investigation into this outbreak alleges that the procedure was often not only not justified, but even repeated several times in the course of one treatment.

Many in Shymkent believe they know why.

Blood, they say, is a profitable business, without regulations. One can buy it cheaply, either from the poor in the street or in neighbouring Uzbekistan, and then re-sell it for four times the price.

In grey and provincial Shymkent 21 medical workers are currently on trial over the outbreak.

No courtroom was big enough to accommodate their case and so the hearings are taking place in a dilapidated concert hall of one of the administrative buildings.

Expensive cars belonging to the defendants and their lawyers are parked outside the gray building. The victims, represented just by one lawyer, make their way mostly on foot. Many come from the villages outside Shymkent.

Inside, 19 doctors and medical officials sit on wooden benches. In an iron cage next to them two women, who unlike the others are already under arrest, lower their heads as the judge calls their colleagues to come forward.

From across the hallway, parents of the victims listen as one by one the doctors deny the charges that range from corruption to re-use of disposable equipment to recklessness, malpractice and illegal trade of donor blood.

What lies ahead?

"None of these doctors are any longer in administrative positions but if you can believe me, some of them are still practising," says Kanat Alseytov, one the very few here who wants people to see what happened to his son.

When Baukhzan was diagnosed, Kanat set up a foundation that raises money and lobbies for the rights of the children. It is largely because of this work that the outbreak received public attention.

As two-year-old Baukhzan chases his twin sister across the living room, Kanat, his wife and the grandparents talk about the uncertainty that surrounds the government aid the victims are currently receiving, and the desperate need to get rid of the social stigma.

"We need to think ahead," says Kanat. "How long will we have the aid for? What kind of aid will be available for people who are being diagnosed now? And the future of these children too?"

"People are pointing fingers at us already, what will happen when these kids have to go to school?"

In his view, it is the widespread corruption of the entire healthcare system that is responsible for ruining Baukhzan's future.

"Imagine the healthcare budget is an apple," Kanat explains "First the Ministry of Health takes a bite, then the regional government, then the municipality and so on. By the time the apple reaches the hospital, only the core is left."

Drugs and prostitution, lack of education and poverty - these are the common reasons behind the growing rate of HIV infection across Central Asia.

The Shymkent outbreak shows that what goes on behind the hospital walls could be just as dangerous.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6379511.stm

Published: 2007/02/21 00:43:12 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Incendiary devices found at Uni
Two incendiary devices have been found at an Oxford University college.

Bomb disposal experts cordoned off an annex at Templeton College, Kennington, on Monday morning after concerns were raised by a member of staff.

The devices were found in a search which had been prompted by claims on an animal rights website that the college had been targeted.

Officers specialising in the activities of animal liberation groups were dealing with the incident.

A Thames Valley Police spokeswoman stressed this was one line of inquiry, and that she could not confirm the nature of the devices.

Bomb disposal experts were called in and the immediate area was evacuated as a precaution. Police said there was not thought to be any immediate danger to members of the public.

Obviously we have been very vigilant in recent months, on the look-out for activity of this kind
Oxford University spokeswoman

The devices were found after an "anonymous communiqué" was posted on Saturday on a website which gives details of animal liberation groups' activities.

The posting claimed an arson attack had been carried out some days earlier on the college's offices.

It read: "This latest action is part of an on-going fight against the University of Oxford and its continued reign of terror over the unseen victims inside its animal labs."

A University spokeswoman said: "Obviously we have been very vigilant in recent months, on the look-out for activity of this kind and especially after the recent letter-bombings.

"The university has its own security services who alerted the college when they discovered the posting on the website.

"We have increased security in recent times but obviously staff and students need access to university buildings and nobody would like us to make them into a fortress."

She said that those using Oxford University premises had all been made aware for the need for increased vigilance.

Iain Simpson from Pro Test - an Oxford-based group campaigning in favour of continued animal testing - told the BBC that the incident had failed to rattle his colleagues.

"These incidents are much less common than they were," he said.

"More and more scientists are coming out, speaking about the work they do, explaining how their use of mice and rats models does help to come up with some cures for some hideous diseases."

Located in Egrove Park, Templeton is a graduate college specialising in teaching and research on business management.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/6397919.stm

Published: 2007/02/26 17:21:32 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Tamil gangs tackled from 'within'
By Debabani Majumdar
BBC News, London

For a 26-year-old, Abhya's face seems to have too many scars.

"That was someone trying to take my eye out with a broken beer bottle," he said pointing to the circular scar almost encircling his right eye.

"And this here was a cut from a samurai sword," he added, showing a cut which extends from his hairline to his right eyebrow.

The scar sent shivers down my spine, but Abhya, who did not want to be identified, describes a confrontation with a rival group at a wedding in 2005 in Ilford, east London, in a matter-of-fact way.

"They chased me down the high street. When I confronted them, one of them cut me on the forehead."

Those who attacked Abhya were members of a Tamil gang.

Since 2000 Tamil gangs in London have been involved in many gory confrontations, which have resulted in 10 deaths, spurring the Metropolitan Police to set up a special task force, Operation Enver, to tackle Tamil gang-related incidents.

Abhya says he used to 'hang around with friends' and got involved in fights, but denied being in any organised gang.

Community 'intimidated'

A childhood friend's gruesome death in 2003 jolted him into reforming his ways. His friend was 23.

"He was watching TV downstairs and I was upstairs with other guys when a group wearing masks came and shot him thrice through the window. He died on my birthday."

Chief Inspector Derrick Griffiths, who has been involved with the special task force, said there are five main Tamil gangs in London.

They are based in East Ham and Walthamstow in east London, Wembley in north-west London and Merton and Croydon in south London.

The East Ham group is the biggest with 30 core members.

But a series of crackdowns, patrols and installing CCTV cameras on the High Street over the past 18 months has driven the gangs into hiding.

Despite these measures and a relatively quiet two years, people still live in fear as police were only able to secure convictions in two of 10 murders, said Mr Griffiths.

"All crimes were detected and people were charged but what we found was the level of intimidation was so high that we couldn't get anybody from the Tamil community to come to court and give evidence," he said.

The gang violence shocked the nearly 100,000-strong Sri Lankan Tamil community in London.

Vellupillai Jegendira Bose, 58, who owns an estate agency on East Ham High Street, faced the wrath of the gangs when he attended a community meeting called by the police.

"After the meeting I was joking with the officer that I may need protection, and when I returned someone had shattered the display window of the shop," he said.

'Funding' rebel struggle

Most of the violence has resulted from inter-gang rivalries and revenge attacks stemming from territorial control, community leaders believe.

Historically the gangs have largely been involved in credit card frauds and extortion from local businesses.

A police operation uncovered that in the past two years alone, credit card frauds by Tamil gangs amounted to £70m.

In Newham, for instance, gang members demand £10,000 to £15,000 a year from shops and businesses while they confiscate cars from people and demand up to £3,000 for their return, Mr Griffiths said.

And the money is sent to Sri Lanka to fund the struggle by Tamil Tiger rebels, he added.

Rebels are fighting for a separate homeland for the country's 3.1m-strong Tamil population following decades of alleged discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

But this has been repeatedly and vehemently denied by community leaders although some do believe that the Tamil Tigers use gangs to threaten people.

Paul Sathianesan, a councillor in Newham, said: "The anti-social behaviour is damaging race relations and spoiling the image of the community, but it is mostly territorial control with these boys. They have nothing to do with the fighting in Sri Lanka."

'Show of power'

Mr Griffiths said they have successfully subdued some gangs by arresting and slapping ASBOs on main players, but many businessmen like Mr Bose say some should be deported to send a strong message.

Deportation is a tricky issue, said Mr Griffiths, although police have submitted at least 24 names to the Home Office.

"The boys get rid of their ID papers so when they are taken back to Sri Lanka the immigration there says we can't prove their nationality," he said.

"Also many of these boys are second generation Tamils who are born and bred here."

Mala Krishnaraja, 56, who heads Tamil Community Forum, said young children are most vulnerable.

"Boys of 12 and 14 are being lured by the gangs. The attraction of having money and flashy cars and the show of power gets the children interested in gang culture."

The police have carried out regular raids to seize weapons from gang hide-outs. While their weapon of choice seems to be samurai swords, axes and daggers, guns have started infiltrating the leadership, some of whom now carry pistols, Mr Griffiths said.

Following the recent spate of shootings in south London, which claimed the lives of three teenagers, a police report identified 169 groups, more than a quarter of which have been involved in murders.

With regard to the Tamil gangs Mr Griffiths said their next target will be money launderers and Tamil Tiger fundraisers.

Even people from the community agree that recent measures have brought the gang menace under control.

Action from 'within'

Mr Griffiths said: "Unreported crimes are still a problem but the number of intelligence reports have gone from one in two to three months to 10 or 15 a week. The intelligence flow is very important in relation to future action and our success."

Although optimistic, Abhya believes every time a gang is subdued the next generation takes over.

"Teenagers follow their brothers or cousins... We need to help these boys rather than classing them as gangs as that gives them publicity," he said.

"People need to go to schools and speak to these boys. The action needs to come from within the community."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6380817.stm

Published: 2007/02/26 06:10:39 GMT

© BBC MMVII

http://www.google.com/search?q=Tamil+gangs+in+London&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

I thought that I recalled the same stories, but in Canada:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=jPJ&q=Tamil+gangs+in+Canada&btnG=Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=Tamil+gangs+in+U.S.&btnG=Search

http://www.google.com/search?q=the+level+of+intimidation+was+so+high+that+we+couldn%27t+get+anybody+from+the+Tamil+community+to+come+to+court+and+give+evidence&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?q=credit+card+frauds+by+Tamil+gangs+amounted+to&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?q=money+is+sent+to+Sri+Lanka+to+fund+the+struggle+by+Tamil+Tiger+rebels&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?q=the+Tamil+Tigers+use+gangs+to+threaten+people.&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.google.com/search?q=Tamil+Tiger+fundraisers&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Iran rocket claim raises tension
Iranian media say the country has successfully launched its first rocket capable of reaching space.

But officials later said it was for research and would not go into orbit.

Experts say if Iran has fired a rocket into space it would cause alarm abroad as it would mean scientists had crossed important technological barriers.

Iran has made little secret of its desire to become a space power and already has a satellite in orbit launched by the Russians.

The latest launch - if confirmed - comes at a time of mounting tension between Tehran and the West over Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are due to meet on Monday to discuss the possibility of more sanctions over the nuclear issue.

On Sunday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered another defiant speech insisting there is no going back on Iran's nuclear programme.

Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region
Sir Richard Dalton, former UK ambassador to Iran
In a speech in Tehran, he likened his country's nuclear programme to a train with no brakes and no reverse gear.

One of his deputy foreign ministers, Manouchehr Mohammadi, said they had prepared themselves for any situation arising from the issue, even for war.

Meanwhile, foreign ministers from seven Muslim states meeting in Pakistan have called for a diplomatic solution to the "dangerous" stand-off.

"It is vital that all issues must be resolved through diplomacy and there must be no resort to use of force," said a statement issued after talks involving ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Missile technology

Iranian TV broke the news of the reported test saying: "The first space rocket has been successfully launched into space."

It quoted the head of Iran's aerospace research centre, Mohsen Bahrami, as saying that "the rocket was carrying material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defence".

However, Ali Akbar Golrou, executive director of the same facility, was later quoted by Fars news agency as saying the craft launched by was a sub-orbital rocket for scientific research.

"What was announced by the head of the research centre was the news of launching this sounding rocket," Mr Golrou said.

It would not remain in orbit but could rise to about 150km (94 miles) before a parachute-assisted descent to Earth.

No pictures of the reported launch have been shown on Iranian state TV, and no Western countries have confirmed tracking any such test-firing.

Some Western diplomats suspect Iran may have backtracked on the announcement when it realised what negative publicity this would bring at a sensitive time, says the BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran.

The reports come a day after Iran's Defence Minister spoke of plans to build a satellite launcher and join the space club. Also, an Iranian official quoted in Aviation Week earlier this month said Iran would soon test a new satellite launcher.

Britain's former ambassador to Iran, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC that, if confirmed, such a launch could destabilise the Middle East.

"It is a matter of concern," he said. "Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region, and of course if there were a bomb that could be placed on the end of this missile, it would be in breach of Iran's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty."

Military experts believe that if Iran has sent a rocket into space it means scientists have mastered the technology needed to cross the atmospheric barrier.

In practice, they say, that means there is no technological block to Iran building longer range missiles now, something that will be of great international concern.

In 2005, Iran's Russian-made satellite was put into orbit by a Russian rocket.

But shortly afterwards Iranian military officials said they were preparing a satellite launch vehicle of their own, and last month they announced they were ready to test it soon.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6394387.stm

Published: 2007/02/25 15:44:39 GMT

© BBC MMVII