BBC NEWS | Europe | Litvinenko supporter shot in US

BBC NEWS | Europe | Litvinenko supporter shot in US

Litvinenko supporter shot in US
The FBI and US police are investigating the shooting of a Russian intelligence analyst, days after he said Moscow was involved in a former KGB agent's death.

Paul Joyal, 53, was shot several times as he returned to his home in the suburbs of Washington DC on Thursday.

Reports say Mr Joyal, an American, had items stolen in an attack that appeared to be a random robbery.

But the timing has raised concern that he was targeted for expressing his views on the Alexander Litvinenko case.

Mr Litvinenko, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian security services, died in November in London after being poisoned by radioactive substance polonium-210.

He and his associates accused Russia of carrying out the poisoning because of his fierce opposition to Mr Putin, who has denied any involvement.

Hospital officials said Mr Joyal was in a critical condition.

'We will silence you'

Four days before he was shot, Mr Joyal told NBC's Dateline television programme that he had struck up a friendship with the former agent during trips to London.

In his interview, Mr Joyal said: "A message has been communicated to anyone who wants to speak out against the Kremlin - 'if you do, no matter who you are, where you are, we will find you and we will silence you - in the most horrible way possible'."

The FBI told the BBC that it was helping the Prince George's County police department in the investigation, but had not opened its own inquiry.

Mr Joyal - a former police officer - runs a consultancy specialising in intelligence information for companies wishing to invest in the former Soviet republics.

Mr Litvinenko was granted asylum in the UK in 2000.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6418977.stm

Published: 2007/03/05 11:32:25 GMT

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Report warns against Iran attack

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Report warns against Iran attack

Report warns against Iran attack
Military strikes against Iran could speed Tehran's development of nuclear weapons, according to a UK think tank.

A report by the Oxford Research Group says military action could lead Iran to change the nature of its programme and quickly build a few nuclear arms.

Iran denies Western claims it is trying to build weapons, saying its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

The study comes as the UN nuclear watchdog is set to discuss the nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea.

In February, Iran ignored a deadline set by the UN Security Council to stop enriching uranium.

A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran was instead expanding the programme.

Far from setting back Iran's nuclear programme , a military attack might create the political conditions in which Iran could accelerate its nuclear weapons programme
Oxford Research Group report

Enriched uranium is used as fuel for nuclear reactors, but highly enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear bombs.

Western powers have threatened to expand sanctions on Iran. These could include travel bans on Iranian officials associated with nuclear and missile programmes.

The US has not ruled out using force but says it wants to give diplomacy a chance.

'Fast-track programme'

The Oxford Research Group report is written by nuclear scientist and arms expert Frank Barnaby.

"If Iran is moving towards a nuclear weapons capacity it is doing so relatively slowly, most estimates put it at least five years away," he says.


POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS
New UN resolution on tougher economic sanctions, tabled by US or European allies
US pressure on Europeans to step up bilateral sanctions
New initiative to get Iran back to talks

Mr Barnaby adds that an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities "would almost certainly lead to a fast-track programme to develop a small number of nuclear devices as quickly as possible".

He says it "would be a bit like deciding to build a car from spare parts instead of building the entire car factory".

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says that with two US navy aircraft carrier strike groups in the Gulf region and US spokesmen refusing to rule out force, this study is timely and highlights what most air power experts have been saying for some time.

IAEA meeting

An operation to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities would be neither brief nor limited in scope, our correspondent says. Multiple targets would have to be hit, and the outcome would be far from clear, especially if Iran has hidden facilities unknown to US intelligence.

But he points out that this is not a military study - written by a noted atomic scientist and peace campaigner, it looks more at the aftermath of a potential US attack and questions the central rationale for any military operation.

On Monday the IAEA board of governors is due to discuss both Iran and North Korea.

The BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna says that while there is little progress on the Iranian nuclear file there has been movement on North Korea.

Last month Pyongyang agreed to take the first steps towards nuclear disarmament, as part of a deal reached during talks in Beijing.

Under the agreement, North Korea promised to shut down its main nuclear reactor in return for fuel aid.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6418049.stm

Published: 2007/03/05 00:05:23 GMT

© BBC MMVII

BBC NEWS | South Asia | US 'erased Afghan attack footage'

BBC NEWS | South Asia | US 'erased Afghan attack footage'

US 'erased Afghan attack footage'
The Associated Press is to complain to the US military after journalists said US soldiers deleted footage of the aftermath of an attack in Afghanistan.

President Hamid Karzai said 10 people died when coalition forces opened fire on civilians after a suicide attack in eastern Nangarhar province on Sunday.

Journalists working for AP said US troops erased images of a vehicle in which three people had been shot dead.

The US military said it could not confirm its troops had seized any film.

'Co-ordinated attack'

The Americans say the fighting started when a convoy of marines was attacked by a suicide bomber and came under co-ordinated small-arms fire.

Two soldiers with a translator came and said, 'Why are you taking pictures? You don't have permission'
Photographer Rahmat Gul

They say their soldiers returned fire, and acknowledge that at least eight Afghan civilians were killed, with a further 35 injured.

Thousands of local people took to the streets on Sunday to protest against what happened. The Afghan authorities have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the militant attack.

'You will face problems'

In a report from Kabul, the Associated Press (AP) said it "plans to lodge a protest with the American military".

A freelance photographer working for AP and a cameraman working for AP Television News say they arrived at the site about half an hour after the suicide bombing.

Witnesses at the scene said three civilians in the four-wheel drive vehicle had been killed by US forces fleeing the attack, the journalists said.

"When I went near the four-wheel drive, I saw the Americans taking pictures of the same car, so I started taking pictures," photographer Rahmat Gul said.

"Two soldiers with a translator came and said, 'Why are you taking pictures? You don't have permission.'"

Mr Gul said troops took his camera, deleted his photos and returned it to him.

His APTN colleague, who did not want to be named, said he was told he could film the scene - but when he did so a US soldier got very angry and deleted any footage that included the Americans.

Khanwali Kamran, a reporter for the Afghan channel Ariana Television, said the American soldiers also deleted his footage, AP reported.

"They warned me that if it is aired ... then, 'You will face problems,'" Mr Kamran was quoted by the news agency as saying.

Reporters Without Borders condemned the alleged actions of the US forces, saying they dealt with the media poorly.

"Why did the soldiers do it if they don't have anything to hide?" said Jean-Francois Julliard, a spokesman for the Paris-based group.

US military spokesman Lt Col David Accetta said he did not have any confirmed reports that coalition forces "have been involved in confiscating cameras or deleting images".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6419235.stm

Published: 2007/03/05 12:20:22 GMT

© BBC MMVII