Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kaidanow Concludes Visit to Azerbaijan

by news.az

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Tina Kaidanow on April 25 met with President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, other high-level Government of Azerbaijan officials, and civil society leaders during her visit to Baku.

In her meetings, Deputy Assistant Secretary Kaidanow exchanged views on regional issues and U.S.-Azerbaijan bilateral relations, stressing the strategic and shared interests underlying bilateral cooperation in security, energy and democratic reform.

WikiLeaks reveals details about Guantanamo detainees

Nearly 800 classified U.S. military documents obtained by WikiLeaks reveal extraordinary details about the alleged terrorist activities of al Qaeda operatives captured and housed at the U.S. Navy’s detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The secret documents have been made available to several news organizations, including the New York Times and the Washington Post – and some have been published by WikiLeaks, an organization that facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information.

Afghanistan: Hundreds escape from Kandahar prison

by reuters

More than 470 inmates at a prison in southern Afghanistan have escaped through a tunnel hundreds of metres long and dug from outside the jail.

Officials in the city of Kandahar said that many of those who escaped were Taliban insurgents.

The Kandahar provincial governor’s office said some had since been recaptured but gave no further details.

Libya: UN warns of blurring aid and military operations

The UN’s aid chief has warned against blurring the lines between military operations and relief work in Libya.

Valerie Amos said there was no need yet to accept an EU offer of military escorts to protect aid deliveries.

Meanwhile, Oscar-nominated Tim Hetherington was one of two Western photojournalists killed in a mortar attack in the besieged city of Misrata.

Tim Hetherington, co-director of ‘Restrepo,’ killed in Libya

Tim Hetherington, the esteemed photojournalist and an Oscar nominee for a gritty and harrowing documentary about the Afghan war, has been killed in the war-torn Libyan city of Misrata, according to the president of the agency that represented him.

Another journalist was seriously wounded but his or her identity was not disclosed. Panos Pictures, which employed Hetherington, confirmed that the photographer’s family had been notified.

Japanese exports fall 2.2% in March due to tsunami

bbc.co.uk

Japanese exports fell more than expected in March, as damage from last month’s earthquake and tsunami affected shipments. (bbc.co.uk)

According to the finance ministry exports declined 2.2% from a year earlier, the first drop in 16 months.

Shipments of cars tumbled 28% as the sector continued to be hit by shortfall of parts and slowdown in production.

The earthquake and tsunami has damaged factories and disrupted the supply chain.

Iranian engineers abducted in Afghanistan

by bbc.co.uk

At least seven Iranian engineers have been kidnapped in western Afghanistan, Iranian media reported on Monday, citing officials. (cnn.com)

Iran’s state-run Press TV said that seven engineers were kidnapped, while the semi-official Fars News Agency said that 12 Iranian engineers were taken, in addition to five Afghan nationals.

It was not immediately clear which, if either report was correct. CNN could not independently confirm the details.

Syrian forces kill as many as 24, opposition source says

Syrian security forces killed as many as 24 people over the past two days in areas where anti-government protests have been under way, an opposition source said Monday. (cnn.com)

by cnn.com

Some of the victims were killed in Talbisa when security forces fired on mourners at a funeral Sunday, opposition sources said.

Forces also raided homes and shot people on the streets in Talbisa, said Wissam Tarif, a rights activist who is outside the country and in communication with sources inside the country.

Tarif learned that 11 people were killed in Talbisa and 21 were wounded, but later lost communication with the town and could only confirm the names of five people killed in Talbisa.

Silvio Berlusconi wins passage of legal bill

Italy’s lower house of parliament has approved a bill that would cut the length of some trials and be likely to end a bribery case against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. (bbc.co.uk)

The measure passed by 314 to 296, amid boos and shouts from opposition politicians.

They said the law was a “disgrace” and tailor-made for Mr Berlusconi.

Meanwhile, the Italian leader indicated that he would not stand for re-election in 2013.

China arrests dissident in crackdown, human rights group says

China has arrested a pro-democracy activist, the latest detention in the government’s effort to prevent the Arab world’s “Jasmine Revolution” from spreading into China, a human rights group said Wednesday. (cnn.com)

Zhu Yufu, a longtime activist and a founder of the China Democracy Party, is accused of “inciting subversion of state power,” the group Chinese Human Rights Defenders said.

Zhu is at least the fourth activist reported to be arrested and accused of that crime in recent weeks.