World News joined 6

[OMEN]

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A key Taliban commander who was reportedly kicked out of the militia said Sunday that he believed Taliban leader Mullah Omar has not signed off on the dismissal order, and blamed the report on a "conspiracy" by his enemies.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said a day earlier that Mansoor Dadullah, a militant commander in southern Afghanistan, had been kicked out of the Islamic militia for "disobeying orders" and conducting activities "against the Taliban's rules and regulations." Mujahid did not give details.

Dadullah told The Associated Press he does not believe he has been dismissed.

"It's not true that Mullah Omar kicked me out of the Taliban," Dadullah said by telephone. "If Mullah Omar wanted me to leave the Taliban, then he would send me the message and I would put down my weapons because he is our top commander."

Dadullah said the news that he had been dismissed was a "conspiracy by my enemies." He said he was trying to contact Omar to discuss who said he had been dismissed.

"If Mullah Omar wants me to disarm, there is no need to publish this in the media," Dadullah said. "In jihad there is no personal interest. In jihad you will be injured or killed only for the sake of Islam."

Mujahid reiterated on Sunday the order came from Omar, and said he would soon provide an audio recording with Omar ordering Dadullah out of the militia.

Dadullah rose in the militia's ranks as an important commander in southern Afghanistan after his brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed during a military operation in Helmand province in May. Mullah Dadullah was the highest-ranking Taliban commander killed since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Mansoor Dadullah said after his brother's death his fighters opened an investigation and arrested two "spies." He said a third arrest was made about three weeks ago, and new information from the arrest would soon be sent to Omar and news media.

Mullah Dadullah's body had bullet wounds to the head, chest and stomach, suggesting he was likely killed by sniper fire from a well-trained soldier at close range.

Muhibullah Mahajir, a spokesman for Mansoor Dadullah, told AP earlier Sunday some Taliban commanders were involved in Mullah Dadullah's death.

"That's why some of these commanders who were involved in the killing of Mullah Dadullah have made a conspiracy against us," said Mahajir, who has contacted AP in the past.

FoxNews

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for this.

[OMEN]

Dec. 31: Police officers beat opposition supporters during riots in the Kibera slum in Nairobi.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan police battled thousands of opposition supporters enraged over President Mwai Kibaki's allegedly fraudulent re-election, firing tear gas and live ammunition as the death toll from the violence rose to 103, officers and witnesses said.

Several officers said they had orders to shoot to kill, while opposition supporters said they would risk death to protest what they called a stolen election. Demonstrators were beaten back with tear gas and water cannons, and police fired live rounds over their heads in Nairobi's burning slums.

"We have been rigged out, we are not going to accept defeat," said 24-year-old James Onyango, who lives in Nairobi's Kibera slum. "We are ready to die and we're ready for serious killings."

Raila Odinga, the fiery opposition leader who came in second according to the official results, compared Kibaki to a military dictator who "seized power through the barrel of the gun," and called on 1 million people to gather Thursday in Nairobi's Uhuru Park — where protesters gathered to demand multiparty democracy in the early 1990s.

"We are calling for mass action," said Odinga, who had been leading early results and public opinion polls. "We will inform police of the march. We will march wearing black arm bands because we are mourning."

An Associated Press reporter saw a man who had been shot in the head being carried in a blanket. Men around him said he had been shot by police. Police were not immediately available for comment.

Teams of riot police fired shots into the air and tear gas into homes and businesses; in one home, a woman and her four young children ran out, retching.

"We were just hiding from the shots," said Dorothy Nyangasi, frantically pouring water over the eyes of her 6-month-old old son Daniel.

Opposition supporters blocked a road into Nairobi's city center with burning refuse. Police with batons and riot shields hit and detained opposition supporters in Kibera.

There, 14-year-old Selina Angeyo said police had shot her brother and another man in the stomach. Shortly after she spoke to reporters she was arrested and taken away crying in a marked police vehicle.

The violence has killed at least 103 people since Saturday across the country, police and witnesses said, although the tally was likely far higher. Three police officers told The Associated Press independently that they had been ordered to shoot to kill to stop the rioters.

A government spokesman denied such an order was given.

Odinga postponed a rally planned for Uhuru Park Monday after police warned the opposition not to hold it.

The United States said it was concerned over "serious problems" during the counting of votes.

"Those alleging vote tampering may pursue legal remedies and should be able, consistent with respect for freedom of speech, to make their case publicly. We call on the judiciary to play its role expeditiously," the U.S. embassy in Kenya said.

Kibaki, 76, was sworn in almost immediately after the results were announced. Within minutes, the slums exploded into fresh violence.

Suspicions over rigging were fueled by the fact that the opposition took most of the parliamentary seats in Thursday's vote, but Kibaki still won the election.

Kenya is one of the most developed countries in Africa, with a booming tourism industry and one of the continent's highest growth rates. Many observers saw the campaign as the greatest test of this young, multiparty democracy and expressed great disappointment as the process descended into chaos.

Some Kibera residents said that they had not been able to find food since shops closed for elections on Thursday and trouble began over the delayed vote-counting. A woman shouted "hungry! hungry!" at passing journalists.

Kibaki's supporters say he has turned Kenya's economy into an east African powerhouse, with an average annual growth rate of 5 percent. He won by a landslide in 2002, ending 24 years in power by the notoriously corrupt Daniel arap Moi. But Kibaki's anti-graft campaign has largely been seen as a failure, and the country still struggles with tribalism and poverty.

The election violence had a disturbing tribal undertone in the slums, where youths shouted ethnic slurs. Kibaki, from the Kikuyu tribe, has been accused of maintaining the tribal patronage system of the Moi years. Odinga is a Luo, another major tribe.

FoxNews

[OMEN]

SPOKANE, Wash. — A 20-year-old man from New York state was jailed in Spokane during the weekend after being accused of stalking a 15-year-old girl he says he met while playing the video game Halo.

Police arrested the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., man after he apparently drove to Spokane, went past the girl's house, and threatened her in a text message.

The girl's parents were outside when the man passed and honked. They got his license plate number and called police.

Police say they traced the man to a Spokane motel. After questioning, police charged Joshua R. Stetar, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with one felony count of stalking. He was booked into jail at 1:47 a.m. Saturday. Eight hours later, he posted $10,000 bond and was released.

Fox News

[the svrman]

dude thats wrong some obsention and it was over HALO lol man crazy stuff

[JohnCenaFan28]

That's nasty... I can't believe that would happen:o

[Black Widow]

thats just wrong

[5be92]

crazy man.....he's probably pissed off that she was a better player than him

[OMEN]

Virgin Atlantic is a key transatlantic carrier operating from main airports
Sir Richard Branson has told Virgin Atlantic staff who are threatening to strike over a wage deal offered by the airline to consider working elsewhere.

In a letter to 4,800 cabin crew, the Virgin boss warned he would not be meeting pay demands.

Workers' union Unite called the letter from Sir Richard "provocative".

It comes after union members voted to strike in January in protest over pay levels they say are lower than at other airlines, including British Airways.

The 48-hour strikes are scheduled for 9 and 10 January, and 16 and 17 January.

For some of you, more pay than Virgin Atlantic can afford may be critical to your lifestyle and if that is the case you should consider working elsewhere
Sir Richard Branson

The strikes are not the only industrial action scheduled by aviation workers for January.

Union members at airport operator BAA are set to cause mass disruption at some of the UK's largest airports on three other dates next month.

'Dangerous precedent'?

In his letter, Sir Richard said Virgin Atlantic had "drawn a line in the sand" over pay this year.

"To go further would result in unacceptable risks and would set a dangerous precedent to the company as a whole," he added.

"It would be irresponsible of our management and they, rightly, are not going to take that risk."

Sir Richard admitted that rival airlines often offered better basic wages but said that they did not offer the perks that came with working for a "smaller, more friendly" company.

"For some of you, more pay than Virgin Atlantic can afford may be critical to your lifestyle and if that is the case you should consider working elsewhere," Sir Richard said.

Virgin Atlantic has previously said that there would be no "eleventh hour change to our pay offer".

The airline said its offer was worth 8.3% on basic pay over two years, with a 4.8% increase offered in the first year.

'Unhelpful'

A Unite spokesperson said the letter was "unhelpful in resolving the dispute" and would "only make people more upset".

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said that since the letter was sent, a number of union members had contacted management offering to cross the picket line and work on the strike days.

BBC

[OMEN]

Chancellor Merkel said the state had to intervene in some cases
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged the nation to pay more attention to the needs of children at risk of neglect or abuse.

In her New Year message, Mrs Merkel said "we need a culture of closer inspection, not of looking away".

German police recently uncovered a huge, internet-based network distributing images of child sex abuse. Germans were also shocked in December by two separate cases involving the killing of eight young children.

"We all think with horror of the news of child abuse, neglect and deaths... In cases where parents clearly cannot cope with the raising of their children, the state must intervene," Mrs Merkel said.

German media quoted parts of her speech on Monday, ahead of a broadcast on national television.

Mrs Merkel called for more preventive checks and wider scope for family courts to make decisions on child custody.

Drive for more jobs

On the economy, she warned that Germany's figure of 3.5 million unemployed was still too high.

But she said Germany had taken a "good step forward" in creating more jobs. "A million fewer unemployed, a million gainfully employed - who could have thought such a development possible two years ago?" she said.

She said global economic risks meant Germany "must on no account relax". She reiterated her goal of maintaining existing jobs and creating new ones.

The BBC's Berlin correspondent Steve Rosenberg says Chancellor Merkel outshone other EU leaders internationally in 2007.

Germany's presidency of the EU and G8 in the first half of the year put her in the international spotlight, he says.

But she cannot afford to be complacent, as cracks are showing in the coalition government between her Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Social Democrat (SPD) partners, our correspondent says.

BBC