Mass protest against fuel hike in Indonesia

Thousands of Indonesians protested across the country Wednesday against a proposed fuel hike, with violence which broke out in one city injuring a policeman, police said. Around 4,000 workers protested “peacefully” in front of the state palace in the capital, Jakarta police spokesman Rikwanto told AFP.

“There was some pushing and shoving because so many people were packed but the protest went without incident,” he said. But in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan, about 300 students brought down an iron gate in front of the provincial parliament building and threw rocks and motorcycle helmets at police, an AFP correspondent saw. “A policeman suffered serious injuries on his eyebrow and head and was taken to the hospital. Thirty students were detained by police for questioning,” Medan city police chief Monang Situmorang told reporters.

“The brutal act by the students was intolerable. We will thoroughly investigate this matter,” he added. Indonesia is considering raising fuel prices or lowering the current subsidy to private vehicles in anticipation of rising global oil prices. The government is expected to make a decision by the end of March. In Makassar, provincial capital of South Sulawesi, 300 protesting students damaged four vehicles, including an oil truck belonging to state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina. They also chanted “Crush SBY, bring down SBY-Boediono regime”, referring to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s by his initials, an AFP photographer saw. Under the current government subsidy scheme, private car and motorcycle owners are allowed to buy fuel at Rp 4,500 per litre. Without the subsidy, private motorists would have to buy a higher-octane fuel, priced at above Rp 8,000. The government last raised the price of subsidised fuel in May 2008 by an average of 30 percent to Rp 6,000 per litre.

Shooter kills several at school

A shooter has opened fire in front of a Jewish school in a southwest French city killing several people, the Toulouse prosecutor said Monday. Michel Valet told The Associated Press that there were "several dead" in the shooting Monday morning at the school in Toulouse. He said it was unclear whether the victims were children. The shooting happened in the same area where a gunman on a motorbike opened fire on three uniformed paratroopers at a bank machine Thursday, killing two and critically wounding the other. The attack in the town of Montauban occurred not far from the soldiers  barracks. Four days earlier, a gunman on a motorbike shot and killed another paratrooper in Toulouse, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) away. Authorities said at the time that forensic analysis showed that the same weapon was used in the shootings in Montauban and Toulouse.

Iran’s parliament speaker compared Israel to a barking dog

”They make a lot of fuss about it but don’t dare to attack Iran,” Ali Larijani said of Israel. His comments were posted on the parliament’s website. ”They are like dogs that keep barking but are not for attacks.” ”Israel won’t make the mistake of attacking Iran because it’s not prepared to play with its own destiny,” said Larijani. Larijani is Iran’s former top nuclear negotiator and intensely loyal to the country’s cleric-led regime. His barbed comments are sure to ratchet up tension over Iran’s nuclear program. Israel and the US have threatened that all options remain open, including military action, if Iran continues with uranium enrichment, a program that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or fissile material for an atomic bomb. Israeli officials have increased their verbal threats against Iran in recent months, saying a window of opportunity is closing to militarily halt or delay Iran’s nuclear program because Tehran is moving more of its nuclear installations underground. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that a strike on Iran ”is not a matter of days or weeks, but it’s also not a matter of years.” Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear and missile programs and repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel’s destruction. President Barack Obama warned Iran this week that the window for dealing with its nuclear program through diplomatic channels is ”shrinking.” Recent polls in Israel have suggested that a majority of Israelis oppose an Israeli strike on Iran if carried out without US cooperation. Iran has scattered its nuclear facilities across the vast country and moved key portions underground to protect them from possible attacks. Tehran has already warned that it would respond to an attack against it by barraging Israel with missiles and taking control of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, a key passageway where a sixth of the world oil passes through. A new version of Iran’s Shahab-3 missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead. That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan within striking distance. Iran has warned that oil prices will dramatically increase should it be attacked and believes that its threat of choking off the Hormuz strait will be one of the factors deterring Israel and the US from taking military action.

Afghanistan wants early takeover of security: Karzai

KABUL: Afghanistan wants to take over control of the nation's security in 2013 not 2014 and for US troops to pull out of villages, President Hamid Karzai said Thursday, just days after a US soldier massacred 16 villagers. Karzai told visiting US defence chief Leon Panetta that "Afghanistan is ready to take overall security responsibility", a statement from his office said. "Our demand is that this processshould be executed sharply and the responsibility should be handed over to Afghans." Karzai said both sides should work together so that the process of handing security from international troops to Afghan forces would be completed in 2013 rather than 2014, the statement said. The president also wants the United States to pull all its troops out of villages, where they have outposts, and relocate them in their bases.
International forces should "be withdrawn from villages and relocated in their bases", the statement said. Panetta's visit had been billed as an opportunity to smooth over relations with Afghan leaders, which took a severe knock when a US soldier allegedly massacred 16 villagers on Sunday and copies of the Holy Quran were burnt last month.
Panetta said after the meeting he was "confident" the United States and Afghanistan would work out a treaty allowing a US military presence in the country beyond a pullout in 2014. Panetta said he was optimistic that both sides would reach an agreement on night raids -- a major issue blocking the treaty -- ahead of a NATO summit in Chicago in May. (AFP) 

Krasna Horka castle in eastern Slovakia went up in flames

The 14th century Krasna Horka castle in eastern Slovakia went up in flames

The blaze at the castle near Roznava town in Kosice region was probably caused by cut dry grass which caught fire. Eleven regional fire services were called to attend the conflagration. A helicopter dumped water onto the fire.The castle s wooden roof was completely burned and the interior of the building was destroyed, fire service officials said.Krasna Horka Castle was built up in 14th century. The first written reference to the castle was in 1333.The castle was built to protect a mining trade route.The aristocratic dynasties of Mariassy, Bebekov and Andrassy have owned the castle in the past.The castle had been restored and opened to the public in April last year.

Indian athletes test positive for doping

Three Indian athletes test positive for doping

 They have been tested positive for using banned substances during two national level meets last month.

 The NADA said in a press release Wednesday two athletes were caught during a national rowing championship in the southern city of Hyderabad. One of them tested positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine and the other one for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.he third athlete tested positive for methylhexaneamine during a national taekwondo championship in New Delhi.NADA has been testing athletes at most national championships including at school and college levels over the past few months.--Agencies

A female suicide bomber in Russia

She blew herself up at a checkpoint in Russia s volatile Caucasus region of Dagestan, officials said Wednesday.The attack was the most deadly incident in a upsurge of violence in mainly Muslim Dagestan since Vladimir Putin was elected president."A woman set off a bomb with two kilogrammes of TNT on her body at the checkpoint in Karabudakhent village," said a statement on the Dagestani police website.The suicide bomber s severed head was found tens of metres (yards) from the blast on Tuesday night, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.Investigators said relatives had identified her as the widow of a Dagestan rebel leader who was killed in a police operation against militants last month."She was Aminat Ibrahimova, the widow of a leader of a group from (the town of) Kaspiysk, the former interior ministry official Zaur Zagirov" an unnamed police source told ITAR-TASS.The five victims were low-ranking police officers aged 22 to 34, the ministry said. Two more officers were hospitalised.--AFP