Hosni Mubarak denies all charges against him

CAIRO: Ousted President Hosni Mubarak has denied all charges of corruption and complicity in killing protesters during Egypt's uprising after a court detailed the allegations against him at the opening session of his trial.

An ailing, 83-year-old Hosni Mubarak, lying ashen-faced on a hospital bed inside a metal defendants cage with his two sons beside him in white prison uniforms, faced the start of his historic trial Wednesday on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that toppled him.The spectacle, aired live on state television, was the biggest humiliation for Egypt's former president since his ouster nearly six months ago. But it went a long way to satisfy one of the key demands that has united protesters since Feb. 11, the day the regime was toppled.It was the first time Egyptians have seen Mubarak since Feb. 10, when he gave a defiant TV address refusing to resign.Mubarak, his former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly, and six top police officers are charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with the protesters killed during the uprising, according to the official charge sheet. All eight could face the death penalty if convicted.Separately, Mubarak and his two sons, one time heir apparent Gamal and wealthy businessman Alaa, face charges of corruption. The two sets of charges have been lumped together in one mass trial. (AP)

Triple 'terrorist' blasts kill at least 21 in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Three bombs rocked crowded districts of Mumbai during rush hour on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people and injuring 113 others.

India has remained jittery about the threat of militant strikes, especially since the November 2008 attacks which killed 166 people.

At least 113 people were wounded on Wednesday and preliminary reports showed the death toll had risen to 21 in the "terror attacks" centred mainly on Mumbai's jewellery trading centres, a senior government official said.

"This is another attack on the heart of India, heart of Mumbai. We will fully meet challenge, we are much better prepared than 26/11," Prithviraj Chavan, the state's chief minister, told a TV channel, referring to the 2008 attacks.

Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram also said "terrorists" were to blame.

"The blast occurred at about 6.45 pm (1315 GMT) within minutes of each other. Therefore, we infer that this was a coordinated attack by terrorists," Chidambaram told reporters.

At least one car and a motorbike were used in the coordinated attacks believed to have used improvised explosive devices, officials said.

"This tactic is much more in line with those used by more amateurish groups such as the Indian Mujahideen who have targeted crowded urban areas before," Stratfor, a strategic affair think tank, said in a statement.

Television images showed blaring ambulances carrying away the bloodied people at one of the attack sites. Other images showed bodies lying among glass and metal debris in narrow streets.

At the Dadar area in central Mumbai, one of the explosions left car windows shattered and uprooted electric poles. Police used sniffer dogs to look for clues while the public helped paramedics carry away some of the injured....more

Al-Qaeda’s cyber jihad on Facebook

AL-QAEDA is plotting a devastating "cyber jihad" against Britain and the West, it was revealed yesterday.

Terrorists have even tried to "invade" Facebook in their campaign of electronic warfare.

The extremists have launched crack units to target key computer systems. And Google Earth and Street View are being used to help plan atrocities.

The warnings came as Home Secretary Theresa May unveiled the Government's new counter-terrorism strategy. Senior security officials say cyber-terrorism will become an ever growing threat. One source said: "At the moment incidents are few and far between but it's a taste of things to come." more

Iraq to buy 18 U.S. F-16 fighters

WASHINGTON: Iraq has quietly started negotiations to buy U.S. fighter jets and air-defense systems worth billions of dollars, a purchase Washington hopes will help counter Iranian influences and cement long-term ties with Baghdad after American troops pull out.

Baghdad had frozen plans to buy 18 advanced U.S. F-16 fighters earlier this year after the Arab Spring protests in the region turned its attention to internal stability. Now, senior U.S. and Iraqi officials said Iraq is considering raising its purchase to as many as 36 of the jets.

The decision by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to renew the F-16 talks follows an unexpected surge in government oil revenue, and comes as a Dec. 31 deadline approaches for the departure of the 46,000 remaining U.S. troops from Iraq.

The complex intersection of U.S., Iraqi and Iranian interests has led the U.S. to bet that a strong Iraq will serve regional stability and keep Tehran's ambitions at bay. Mr. al-Maliki and his Shiite-dominated government have cordial relations with the theocratic Shiite regime in Tehran, even though the two nations fought bitterly during the 1980s.

U.S. officials have grown increasingly concerned about Tehran's growing influence in Iraqi politics, and any sale would require Baghdad to maintain tight security over any F-16s to prevent the transfer of sensitive U.S. technology.

Oman has likewise re-engaged with Washington in recent weeks about buying F-16s, which are manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Younger brother of Afghan president killed: officials

KANDAHAR: Ahmed Wali Karzai, the younger brother of the Afghan president and a powerful figure in the deeply troubled southern province of Kandahar, was assassinated on Tuesday, officials said.

Initial details were sketchy, but a family friend, speaking on condition of anonymity, told that Wali Karzai had been killed by a bodyguard while entertaining guests at home.

"We can confirm he has been martyred," Kandahar provincial government spokesman Zalmay Ayubi told providing no further details.

A health official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said Wali Karzai had been shot dead.

The assassination came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai was to hold talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on a surprise visit to Afghanistan where he announced that Paris would recall 1,000 soldiers by the end of next year.

Wali Karzai, head of Kandahar's provincial council, was long a deeply controversial figure in Afghanistan, dogged by allegations of unsavoury links to Afghanistan's lucrative opium trade and private security firms.

American documents leaked by Internet whistleblower WikiLeaks late last year also painted him as a corrupt drugs baron, but Western officials always kept quiet in public on the president's younger half brother's tainted record. (AFP)