Headlines for Thursday, January 14, 2010

Suicide bombing in Afghanistan leaves 20 dead
In Pakistan today, a US drone attack targeted the compound of Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud.  Pakistani officials say 12 people died, but their identities have not been confirmed.

In Afghanistan, two suicide bomb attacks killed 20 and injured 17 people in two volatile southern provinces.   FSRN’s Kabul based reporter Mujahid Jawad has the details.

A powerful suicide explosion struck a crowded bazaar in Deh Rawud district of the southern Oruzgan province.  An army commander in the region said the suicide attack occurred Thursday afternoon in the district center, killing 20 civilians and injuring 13 others, including three children.

In Oruzgan’s neighboring Helmand province, another suicide bomber struck a police convoy, wounding four civilians.  The attack took place in Musa Qala.  No group has claimed immediate responsibility for the attacks.

The United Nations said on Wednesday that the number of civilians killed by anti-government forces in 2009 rose 40 percent from a year earlier, to over 1600.  In contrast, Coalition forces were responsible for approximately 800 civilians deaths.  The UN says suicide attacks and roadside bombings were the main cause of Afghan civilian casualties last year.  Mujahid Jawad  FSRN Kabul.

Nigeria agrees to allow armed US Marshals on flights
Nigeria says it has agreed to allow armed US air marshals on flights between Nigeria and the United States.  FSRN’s Sam Olukoya reports from Lagos.

The plan, which is intended to boost air security on flights between Nigeria and the United States, comes after the attempted bombing of a US-bound airliner on Christmas Day.   In addition, Nigeria is buying 10 full-body scanners for its international airports.  The Civil Aviation Authority Director says the government will ask for US help in training its own air marshals.

The US has put Nigeria on a list of 14 countries whose passengers must undergo stricter security screening before entering the United States.  Nigeria is apparently strengthening air security in an effort to be removed from the security list.  Sam Olukoya, FSRN, Lagos.

British judges calls for review of US extradition case
A British High Court judge has given permission for a judicial review of British computer hacker Gary McKinnon’s potential extradition to the US.  The judge says he believes the extradition is unlawful.  For Free Speech Radio News, Naomi Fowler reports from London:

Aspergers sufferer and depressive Gary McKinnon breached US military and NASA computers looking for evidence of UFOs.  Supporters argue he should be dealt with in the British courts under computer misuse legislation.  But the US wants him extradited.

The highly controversial US-UK Extradition Treaty was ratified in 2006 by the US.  Those who oppose it say it’s unfair and unequal.  The burden of proof for the US to extradite UK citizens is low while US citizens can only be extradited if "probable cause" has been established.  Critics say that leaves British people exposed to the risk of "ill-founded" or politically motivated extradition requests, regardless of where the alleged crime was committed.

A hearing is likely to take place in April or May.  Naomi Fowler, FSRN, London.

Study: Large public universities shifting financial aid to wealthier students
Some top public universities in the US are shifting economic subsidies from low income students to wealthy ones.  A study by Education Trust examines the recent changes in funding opportunities and minority enrollment.  It finds the amount of direct funding for students from families making more than $115-thousand per year increased 28% between 2003 and 2007.  While typical low-income students at the same schools were expected to pay a rate as high as 70% of his or her family’s annual income.  Most flagship schools provide the same amount of aid to students with families making over 80-thousand per year as they do to those making under 54-thousand.  These kinds of numbers, according to the report, are negatively affecting diversity levels at many of the nation’s top public institutions.

Seattle man sentenced for anti-Semitic murder, ruled hate crime
Naveed Haq, the man who opened fire on the Jewish Foundation center in downtown Seattle in 2006, was sentenced today for multiple counts of attempted murder and a hate crime.  FSRN’s Mark Taylor-Canfield has more from Seattle.

On July 28, 2006, Naveed Haq walked into the Jewish Foundation center in downtown Seattle and began to fire indiscriminately at a group of female employees.  One woman was killed and five were seriously wounded in the attack.

A jury found Naveed Haq guilty in his second trial on December 15.  He was convicted on one count of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and one count of unlawful imprisonment.  Haq was also convicted of malicious harassment as a result of Washington State’s hate crime law.

Prosecutors argued that Haq’s act of violence was motivated by his hatred of Israel.  Haq was born in the US after his family moved from Pakistan.   Although prosecutors said he acted alone and had no connections to any known terrorist group, in a recorded conversation with his mother, Haq claimed to be a “soldier of Islam.”  Haq’s sentence is life in prison without parole.  Mark Taylor-Canfield, Free Speech Radio News, Seattle.