Fourteen killed in Tunisia unemployment protests
The number of people killed in unrest over unemployment in Tunisia over the past 24 hours has risen to 14, officials say.
The deaths occurred in the towns of Thala, Kasserine and Regueb, in the west and centre of the country.
An interior ministry statement said that in Thala and Kasserine, police had fired in self-defence after rioters attacked public buildings.
The protests first erupted last month over a lack of freedom and jobs.
Tunisia's official news agency Tap said five people had died as a result of clashes in the western town of Thala on Saturday night, and five had been killed in nearby Kasserine.
"Several government buildings in Kasserine were attacked by groups who set fire to and destroyed three banks, a police station and a filling station and set fire to a police vehicle," the statement said.
"The police fired in the air but the crowds continued, and the police acted out of legitimate self-defence."
Four people were killed in Regueb, near the central town of Sidi Bouzid, Tap said.
'Ceasefire' call
Protesters say the total number of casualties is higher than officials have admitted.
The leader of the opposition Progressive Democratic Party, Ahmed Najib Chebbi, said he believed at least 20 people had been killed in clashes in the three towns.
He called on Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to "call an immediate ceasefire to spare the lives of innocent citizens and respect their right to protest".
The demonstrations began after a man set fire to himself on 17 December in Sidi Bouzid to protest against the police confiscating fruit and vegetables that he was selling without a permit.
He died on Tuesday, while another man is reported to have electrocuted himself as part of the protests.
Demonstrations are rare in Tunisia, where there are tight controls aimed at preventing dissent. The unrest has been linked to frustrations with the president and the ruling elite.
On Friday, the US expressed concern over the government's handling of the demonstrations.
Correspondents say the riots in Tunisia appear to have inspired similar violent protests in Algeria over food prices - forcing the government there to impose a cut on the price of some basic goods.
Source: BBC
French hostages executed during rescue mission, ministry says
Two French citizens who were kidnapped in Niger's capital were executed by their abductors during an attempted rescue mission, the French Defense Ministry said Sunday.
"During this rescue operation, the two hostages were killed, probably executed by their kidnappers. Two French soldiers were injured and many terrorists were killed," said a statement on the ministry's website.
The two were seized by masked gunmen who burst into Le Toulousain, a restaurant owned by a French citizen, in Niamey Friday night. A witness said the bar was crowded and many people did not realize what was going on at first.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said it's believed that "those behind the kidnapping were probably part of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). However, AQIM has not yet claimed responsibility. The group did acknowledge it was responsible for the abduction of five French citizens who've been missing since September.
The spokesman said French Defense Minister Alain Juppe will travel to Niamey Monday to hold a news conference.
No other details, including the identities of the two who were slain, were immediately available.
Niger's Voice of Sahel radio reported severe clashes between Niger army forces and the kidnappers early Saturday near the town of Ouallam, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of Niamey, the capital, and not far from the Mali border.
The leader of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Abu Musab Abdul-Wadud, has warned France that if it does not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, more French nationals would be endangered.
"If you want safety for your citizens who are held captive by us, then you must move quickly to take your soldiers out of Afghanistan according to a specific time table that you announce officially," Abdul-Wadud said.
The five French citizens kidnapped in September were linked to French nuclear energy company Areva, which has been mining uranium for decades in Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world.
France has already said it may begin to withdraw some troops from Afghanistan next year. Minister Herve Morin told French radio station RTL in late October that France will begin to transfer the control of certain districts to Afghans in 2011.
Landlocked Niger is a former French colony. It's in West Africa, southeast of Algeria.
Source:CNN
Passenger plane crashes in Iran, killing 72, official says
Seventy-two people died and 33 were injured Sunday night when an IranAir passenger jet en route from Tehran to the northwest city of Orumiyeh crashed as it attempted to make an emergency landing in a snowy field, an official said.
In all, 105 people -- 93 passengers and 12 crew members -- were aboard the Boeing 727, West Azerbaijan's coroner told the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Severe weather at the site was making rescue operations difficult, the coroner, told the news agency.
All members of the crew were killed, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency.
"Fortunately, reports say that the plane did not explode upon impact," and the crash may have happened as the plane was nearing its destination and close to the ground, the Mehr news agency quoted the head of Iran's Emergency Services, Reza Masoomi, as saying.
At least 10 of those aboard were hospitalized with severe injuries, said an emergency services official, Mojtaba Khaledi, according to the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency.
The incident occurred at 7:45 p.m. (11:15 a.m. ET), he said
Crews were clearing the roads to make it possible for rescue teams to reach the site and 11 hospitals were on alert to receive the injured, Khaledi said.
Trichet urges more action on euro crisis
Jean-Claude Trichet has called on eurozone leaders to step up their efforts to combat the region's debt crisis, including slashing government deficits even more.
The European Central Bank president's comments highlighted widespread fears that the crisis that last year rocked Europe's 12-year-old monetary union could re-escalate in coming weeks as eurozone governments and banks raise funds in tense financial markets.
"In 2011, we must strengthen our efforts even more. We need to see further significant progress on the reduction of excessive fiscal deficits," Mr Trichet told a gathering of Germany's Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party of chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats.
His remarks may have referred particularly to Portugal, where the ECB may see the need for greater efforts to secure the government's fiscal goals. Portugal's borrowing costs have this week risen close to euro-era highs.
But Mr Trichet also repeated his call for eurozone leaders to beef-up their plans to reform the governance of the currency bloc to prevent a repeat of last year's crisis. "Europe cannot afford to rest halfway -- we need to be more ambitious," he said.
Speaking in Wildbad Kreuth in Bavaria, Mr Trichet, said Germany's economy had "fared much better than many had anticipated" and noted that the country was now seeing a revival in domestic demand.
As he spoke, official data showed German imports hit a record level in November and were more than 4 per higher than the previous month. However economists were disappointed by other figures showing retail sales fell by 2.4 percent over the same period -- which suggested much of the surge in imports was of goods required for the production of exports.
Mr Trichet paid tribute to Germany's increased competitiveness but warned that "the competitive gap between countries in the euro area has widened" as shown by unit labor costs, inflation differentials and mounting current account balances. "The long term damage could take the form of persistent differentials in output growth, income and welfare."
Germany's fiscal rules -- the "stability and growth pact" -- were originally written largely by the CSU's Theo Waigel, when he was finance minister in the late 1990s. Mr Trichet argued that the pact's dilution in the middle of the last decade had been a "grave" mistake. "Today, governments have no choice but to change their policies. And they must substantially reinforce the stability and growth pact," he said. Fiscal policies needed "to be brought back onto the path of virtue".
The ECB has criticized as too weak the proposals agreed so far for amending the stability and growth pact -- but remains hopeful that they will be reinforced before coming into effect.
In-form Federer makes history in Qatar
Roger Federer became the first tennis player to win the Qatar Open three times as he ended the reign of Nikolay Davydenko in Saturday's final.
The world no. 2 was beaten by his Russian opponent in last year's semifinals, but avenged that result with a 6-3 6-4 win as he claimed the 67th ATP Tour title of his illustrious career.
The Swiss star followed up his 2005 and 2006 triumphs to give himself a boost ahead of his Australian Open title defense in the opening grand slam of 2011 later this month.
"I have had a good week. I really appreciate the support I get here. I have had good preparation. I can't believe that I am on the board already this year," Federer told reporters.
The 29-year-old lost only one service game en route to the final, and did not even face a break point against fourth seed Davydenko -- who ousted world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in Friday's semis in a repeat of the 2010 final, but has now lost to Federer 15 times in 17 meetings.
"He was tough, really played fast," Davydenko told the ATP Tour website. "He gave me no chance on the return, and also he was returning good. His first serve was very good."
Nadal has been suffering with illness, but he teamed up with fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez to win the doubles title, beating Italy's Daniele Bracciali and Andreas Seppi 6-3 7-6 (7-4) in Friday's final.
"It's a perfect feeling for me to win my third doubles title here in Doha after a not easy week for me," Nadal said. "Now I'm going to work hard to try to be ready for the next tournament."
In Australia, defending champion Andy Roddick will take on world No. 5 Robin Soderling in the final of the Brisbane International event on Sunday.
The American second seed beat South Africa's Kevin Anderson 6-2 4-6 6-2 on Saturday, while Swedish No. 1 Soderling ended Radek Stepanek's hopes of a third successive final appearance when he beat the Czech 6-3 7-5.
Young Czech Petra Kvitova won the women's title, with the 20-year-old beating fellow unseeded player Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-1 6-3 in the final.
The United States won the Hopman Cup mixed teams event for the sixth time on Saturday, beating stand-in finalists Belgium 2-1 in Perth.
With top seeds Serbia withdrawing due to Ana Ivanovic's stomach injury, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and John Isner won the decisive doubles 6-3 6-4 against Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans.
Former world No. 1 Henin won the women's singles rubber 7-6 (8-6) 6-3, but big-serving Isner leveled the tie with a 6-3 6-4 victory.
Tomas Berdych's preparations for Melbourne suffered a blow when the Czech top seed was beaten in the semifinals of the Chennai Open in India, losing 6-4 6-1 to last year's runner-up Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland on Saturday.
Wawrinka, beaten by Marin Cilic in the 2010 final, will take on seventh seed Xavier Malisse after the Belgian beat Serbian No. 6 Janko Tipsarevic 3-6 6-3 6-2.
In New Zealand, Hungarian veteran Greta Arn won her second WTA Tour title by beating defending champion Yanina Wickmayer 6-3 6-3 in the final of the Auckland Classic on Saturday.
The 31-year-old followed up earlier victories over top seed Maria Sharapova, No. 4 Julia Gorges and No. 8 Sofia Arvidsson, saving five match-points in that second-round match.
Arn is expected to break into the top-75 for the first time next week, having last won a title in Estonia in 2007.
2 killed, 300 injured in Algerian riots
At least two people have been killed and 300 others injured in riots that erupted across Algeria amid rising food prices and a housing crisis, state-run media said Saturday.
The protests began earlier in the week over spiraling costs of basic food items, including milk, oil and sugar. Some staples are subsidized by the government.
Trade Minister Mustapha Benbada said food prices were on the agenda for a Saturday meeting between lawmakers, state-run Algerie Press Service reported.
"I think we are beginning to contain this crisis and we want to find a solution early next week," Benbada said in a statement.
Similar protests, some violent, have erupted in neighboring Tunisia, where at least four people have died. Human rights groups have said the Tunisian government has cracked down on demonstrators with force.
Reporters Without Borders condemned the arrests and disappearances of bloggers and online activists across a number of Tunisian cities.
The worldwide press freedom organization said police arrested the bloggers to question them about hacking into government websites. One of those arrested was Hamadi Kaloutcha, who who has not been heard from since his arrest at 6 a.m. Friday, the group said.
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Washington was monitoring the situation in both countries. The Tunisian ambassador was summoned to the State Department.
"We are concerned about demonstrations that have occurred over the past few days in Tunisia," Crowley said. "They appear to us to be the result of ongoing social and economic unrest. We, obviously, want to see restraint on all sides.
"The people of Tunisia have the right to exercise free -- public assembly." he said. "And we have conveyed our views directly to the Tunisian Government."
He said the United States was also concerned about the reports of cyber intrusion and was urging everyone -- from the government to activists -- to respect freedom of expression.
Crowley said it was "difficult" to say whether the protests in Tunisia were related to those in Algeria.
"We're not going to say that there's kind of an overlapping dynamic across the two countries," he said. "But we continue to review this and both engage the government in Algeria and as well as look after the safety of our own citizens."
A national soccer league in Algeria has canceled matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday after riots in the capital and elsewhere this week.
The matches were canceled in an effort to prevent large groups of young people from gathering, a local newspaper, Al Watan, reported.
The protesters have been mostly young men who have broken into buildings and burned tires on the streets.
Adding fuel to the protesters' anger are the high rates of unemployment and housing issues, socio-economic problems that have been festering for some time.
The government has blamed the rising prices and other issues on the global economic crisis.
Man with the golden voice invited to Bermuda
Steps are being taken to invite American Ted Williams, whose “golden voice” has taken him from homelessness to international fame in a matter of days, to Bermuda.
Mr Williams yesterday reminisced about Bermuda on NBC's Today Show, saying a visit to the Island was the "happiest moment of my life".
The homeless Mr Williams has been the object of intense media interest after a short interview clip he was featured in went viral on YouTube.
A voice-over artist who had fallen on hard times, Mr Williams' clip was viewed some 12 million times.
During the interview with Ann Curry and Al Roker yesterday, he said a visit to Bermuda more than 30 years ago remained one of the best times of his life.
Mr Williams said he thought of that trip recently, after psychologist Dale Atkins recommended he focus on a happy memory to cope with stress brought on by his newfound fame.
“Being the recovering alcoholic and addict that I am, she said [to] meditate before medicate....She took me to a place, the most happiest moment of my life.
“When I was young my mom took me to Bermuda ... I love Bermuda. I don't know what's going on with Bermuda now, but in the 70s that was the Hawaii of the Atlantic as far am I'm concerned and being from New York, Bermuda is the closest thing to Hawaii that we have...”
Tourism Minister Patrice Minors said today that steps are underway to bring Mr Williams back to Bermuda.
Minutes after the interview aired, the Bermuda Department of Tourism's New York representatives had contacted him with a view to extending an invitation for him to visit Bermuda, she said.
She added: "I must admit that when I saw his story, I too was moved by his life struggles and challenges. And how absolutely touching that he cited Bermuda and his memories of our beautiful Island as being a beacon of light in his life.
"Spending some time to digest all that is happening in a place where he has fond memories could be a wonderful experience for him. So, in a gesture of kindness and good will, I can confirm that we have reached out to Mr. Williams to let him know that his story has deeply touched all of Bermuda.
"We would be pleased to welcome him, and it's hoped that he will be able to visit the Island sometime in the near future."
Mr Williams wasn't the only person on NBC talking about Bermuda yesterday.
‘Today Show' presenter Matt Lauer said he loved the Island during a review of three-day getaway travel destinations with journalist Kate Maxwell.
Ms Maxwell extolled Bermuda as a golfing destination, and a break from New York with “really pleasant” temperatures and lovely weather.
A stay at the Fairmont Southampton was mentioned as a travel deal. And a viewer who spotted the references on Bermuda on VSB-TV Channel 11 said: “We also got onto the soap opera ‘Days of our Lives'.
“One of the characters said she was taking a plane to Bermuda for a business meeting, so maybe somebody there likes us.”
Nicole Murphy’s in Barbados
Nicole Murphy, former wife of actor Eddie Murphy has been soaking up the sunshine and warm Caribbean sea in Barbados, where she and her beau Ex-Giants player Michael Strahan have been enjoying a six-day holiday at the Hilton Hotel.
Murphy said the couple who are engaged, are considering summer marriage plans, but had not yet decided on a venue for the nuptials.
The mother of five who was divorced from Murphy for about four years said she was having a great time, and enjoying a good friendship with her ex-husband. Eldest child 21-year-old Bria is the new L’Oreal spokesperson for Dark and Lovely.
Nicole and Eddie share the children who alternate weekly stays with either parent.
She is still busy with her modelling career, and is also developing a jewellery line.
The five-foot ten beauty who turned 43 while in Barbados said “I love Barbados. I told Michael we should get a home here”.
She attended a reception at Illaro Court on Friday night, hosted by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.
Man killed on St. Croix
The territory's second shooting death of 2011 came less than 24 hours after the first.
Krishna Ramkisson, 26, of Mutual Homes housing community was getting out of his vehicle near his home about 8:30 p.m. when an unknown number of assailants fired a number of shots and struck him at least once, police said.
The assailants fled the scene, and Ramkisson fell on the pavement by his vehicle, where police responders found him, said V.I. Police spokeswoman Melody Rames.
Officers attempted to perform CPR on Ramkisson until emergency medical responders arrived on the scene and took over, but the man was unresponsive and died shortly after, police said.
Police detectives still are trying to piece together what led of to Ramkisson's murder, said V.I. Police Commissioner Novelle Francis Jr. Ramkisson did not have a criminal record, and Francis said the police still are working out theories. The circumstances indicate that the shooter or shooters were lying in wait for the victim to return home, according to Francis.
"We're still trying to develop the motives on this one," Francis said.
One factor that could prove useful is the possibility of a large number of witnesses, according to police.
Given the time and location of the shooting - early evening in the middle of a housing community - a lot of people likely were around who might have seen the incident play out, Francis said.
"We're appealing to those individuals to call in and get that information to us," he said.
Police continue to investigate the murder and asked for the public's help in gathering more information on this case.
The territory has had three homicides, including one vehicular homicide, this year. Two have been on St. Thomas; one on St. Croix.
Don killed in police operation in Jamaica
The reputed don of the Southside community in central Kingston was fatally shot yesterday during a joint police/military operation in the community.
He has been identified as 31-year-old Horace Ramsay otherwise called 'Pugu'.
A release from the Constabulary Communication Network yesterday said a .380 pistol and two rounds of ammunition along with a quantity of marijuana and a motorcycle were seized during the incident.
Thirty one persons were also reportedly taken into police custody, and are to be processed with interviewed.
The release further went on to allege that Ramsay was the leader of the New World Order Gang which was involved in a power struggle for turf in Southside.
After the shooting yesterday, residents of the community staged a protest saying Ramsay's killing was a case of police brutality. Meanwhile, the police say another man, Marious Davis, also called otherwise called 'Bredda Bredda' is at the other end of the war which caused a number of recent shootings in the community.
Consequently, the police say Davis is wanted for questioning and should report to the Kingston Central Police Station to Police personnel at the Central Police Station or the Elleston Road Police Station by 10 a.m. today.