The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Accused Colorado movie theatre gunman ordered to stand trial
- Mali asks for help after Islamists capture strategic town
- U.S., Afghanistan discuss "last chapter" in war aims - Panetta
| Accused Colorado movie theatre gunman ordered to stand trial Posted: 10 Jan 2013 08:11 PM PST DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado judge ordered accused movie theatre gunman James Holmes on Thursday to stand trial on charges he killed 12 people and wounded dozens more in a shooting rampage at a midnight screening of a Batman movie last summer.
The ruling followed three days of emotionally wrenching prosecution testimony about the shooting, its bloody aftermath and the elaborate preparations that Holmes is accused of making for the attack. Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester ruled that evidence presented during the preliminary hearing had established probable cause to believe that Holmes, 25, committed the crimes, and ordered him bound for trial on all counts. He said Holmes, who has been described by his own lawyers as suffering from an unspecified mental illness, should continue to be held without bail. Some legal experts say this week's proceedings left Holmes' lawyers with little choice but to mount an insanity defence for their client. "The defence team has nowhere else to go given the obvious premeditation and overwhelming evidence against Holmes," said Craig Silverman, a former Denver prosecutor now in private practice as a trial attorney. The former neuroscience doctoral student is charged with 24 counts of first-degree murder and 140 counts of attempted murder stemming from the July 20 rampage at the opening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in the Denver suburb of Aurora. In addition to the 12 people who died, 58 others were wounded by gunfire and a dozen more suffered other injuries. Prosecutors essentially charged Holmes twice for each victim, once for committing a crime "after deliberation" and again for "malice manifesting extreme indifference to human life." The movie house rampage stands as one of the most lethal mass shootings in U.S. history and one that ranked briefly as the deadliest in 2012 - until 20 children and six adults were killed last month at a Connecticut elementary school. DEFENSE TO SEEK POSTPONEMENT OF PLEA Assuming Holmes enters a plea of not guilty, the prosecution will then have 60 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty. But defence attorneys who will return to court on Friday were expected to ask that the arraignment be postponed. In documents filed on Thursday opposing a media request to allow cameras in the courtroom - as Colorado judges can permit for arraignments - Holmes' team said they were not prepared to enter a plea in the sensational case. Holmes is accused of entering Theatre 9 of the Century 16 multiplex with a ticket he bought 12 days in advance, then leaving through a rear exit minutes into the movie and re-entering moments later wearing body armour and a gas mask. Armed with a shotgun, pistol and semi-automatic rifle, authorities say, Holmes lobbed a tear gas canister into the auditorium and sprayed moviegoers with bullets until one of his guns jammed, then surrendered to police without a struggle in the parking lot behind the theatre. Police testified that Holmes began assembling his collection of guns and ammunition two months before the shooting, scouted out the multiplex weeks ahead of time, and took photos of his arsenal and of himself posed with weapons and body armour. Holmes had also booby-trapped his apartment near the theatre with explosives, which police said he intended as a diversion to draw authorities away from the movie house while he was carrying out his assault. The bombs were later defused safely. Officers called to the theatre that night recounted a scene of shooting victims sprawled across a darkened, blood-soaked auditorium as the movie continued to play on the screen and emergency strobe lights flashed. Holmes' lawyers made no attempt during the preliminary hearing to challenge the case laid out by the prosecution and declined to present evidence or witnesses of their own. What few points defence lawyers did make through cross-examination appeared to be aimed at calling attention to the erratic behaviour of their client. A homicide detective acknowledged under defence questioning that Holmes tried to insert a staple into an electrical outlet while being interrogated at police headquarters. During that interview, in which Holmes had plastic bags placed over his hands to preserve any traces of gunpowder residue, Holmes also gestured with one of the bags as if it were a talking hand puppet, the detective testified. Copyright © 2013 Reuters | ||
| Mali asks for help after Islamists capture strategic town Posted: 10 Jan 2013 07:35 PM PST BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali asked for military help from France after residents of the strategic northern town of Konna said Islamist rebels drove out the Malian army on Thursday, the fiercest fighting since militants took control of the country's north nine months ago.
The fall of Konna, about 600 km (375 miles) northeast of the capital Bamako, was a major setback to government forces, which said earlier on Thursday they were making headway against the alliance of al Qaeda-linked rebels. The U.N. Security Council convened emergency consultations in New York and agreed on a statement in which the members "express their grave concern over the reported military movements and attacks by terrorist and extremist groups in the north of Mali, in particular their capture of the city of Konna. "This serious deterioration of the situation threatens even more the stability and integrity of Mali, and constitutes a direct threat to international peace and security," the council said after the meeting, which was requested by France. It also repeated calls for restoration of democracy in Mali and urged U.N. members "to provide assistance to the Malian Defence and Security Forces in order to reduce the threat posed by terrorist organizations and associated groups." French U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud confirmed receipt of a request from the Malian government for military assistance and said the "nature of the response to the letter will be announced in Paris tomorrow." U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice described the request for help from Mali, which was sent to the Security Council: "It wasn't specific, but it basically said, 'Help, France.'" Western and regional governments are keen to dislodge the Islamists from a desert zone of northern Mali larger than France, which they captured in April, amid concerns they may use it as a launch pad to stage attacks. Konna was the last buffer between the rebels and Mopti, about 50 km (30 miles) south, which is the main town in the region and is seen as the gateway to the country's north. After hours of gun battles, heavily armed Islamist fighters paraded in triumph through Konna's centre, saying they would push on to take Mopti and its neighbouring town of Sevare, residents said. "We took the barracks and we control all of the town of Konna," MUJWA rebel group spokesman Oumar Ould Hamaha told Reuters. "The soldiers fled, abandoning their heavy weapons and armoured vehicles." EMERGENCY DECISION News of the fall of Konna sowed panic in Mopti and Sevare, the latter the site of a large military barracks and airport. The towns lie at the crossroads between Mali's desert north and the greener, more populous south. "We have received the order to evacuate," said the local head of a U.S. aid agency. "We have already pulled all our personnel and material out of Mopti." Local residents and a Malian soldier based in Sevare told Reuters that military aircraft, including two cargo planes and four helicopters carrying Western-looking soldiers and equipment, had landed at Sevare airport on Thursday night. The French Defense Ministry declined to comment on the reports, and Mali government and military officials were not immediately available to comment. While a U.N.-sanctioned intervention by African troops is unlikely before September, due to logistical constraints, world powers could decide to act sooner, a U.N. diplomat said. "If the offensive continues, I think there will be an emergency decision by the international community," U.N. Special Envoy to the Sahel, Romano Prodi, said during a visit to Bamako on Thursday, without elaborating. Former colonial power France has been among the most outspoken advocates of an African-led military intervention. Many in Mali's military have also been keen to launch a campaign to reverse their rout by the militants in April. The U.N. Security Council has approved in principle the idea of an international military intervention in the north, though it has urged African nations to step up detailed planning in consultation with the United Nations. An army official had earlier said that soldiers had retaken Douentza, a town about 120 km east of Konna, which has been in the hands of Islamists since September. But residents and a rebel spokesman said Islamists had held their positions inside Douentza, exchanging fire with government troops stationed just outside. The renewed fighting could derail hopes of a breakthrough at peace talks between the Malian government, the rebels and separatist Tuaregs, which were scheduled to start in Burkina Faso on Thursday, but have been postponed until January 21. Djibril Bassole, Burkina Faso's foreign minister and regional mediator in the crisis, on Thursday called on the parties to respect a ceasefire deal agreed on December 4 and said the fighting posed a threat to talks. "The climate of confidence has been greatly degraded, and I am very worried that these talks will not bear fruit," he told reporters in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou. Ansar Dine, one of the main rebel factions, last week ended its ceasefire because of the plan for military intervention. Once an example of democracy and development in turbulent West Africa, Mali was plunged into crisis by a March 2012 coup that allowed Tuareg rebels to seize the north, demanding an independent homeland. Their rebellion was hijacked by Islamists. Bickering among Mali's political elite over a roadmap to end the post-coup transition is causing paralysis and damaging efforts to unite the country with elections to choose a replacement for a caretaker government. Thousands of people took to the streets in Bamako on Wednesday calling for an end to the political crisis, blocking the city's two main bridges. The government responded on Thursday by shutting down schools in Bamako and Kati until further notice. (Additional reporting by Adama Diarra, Bate Felix, Cheick Diouara, Louis Charbonneau, and Mathieu Bonkoungou; Writing by Bate Felix, Daniel Flynn, and Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Peter Millership, Pravin Char and Stacey Joyce) Copyright © 2013 Reuters | ||
| U.S., Afghanistan discuss "last chapter" in war aims - Panetta Posted: 10 Jan 2013 07:27 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed on Thursday the "last chapter" in building a sovereign Afghanistan that can provide its own security, including the nature of U.S. involvement after combat troops withdraw in 2014.
Panetta said he and Karzai made "very good progress" on the issues they discussed, but he declined to say whether they had agreed on the size of any residual U.S. force that would remain in Afghanistan to do counterterrorism operations and training once combat troops withdraw. Panetta said both sides were committed to the goals approved at the NATO summit in Chicago in May, which calls for a continuing effort by members of the alliance to train, advise and assist Afghan forces. Karzai is scheduled to meet President Barack Obama on Friday for more talks on the remaining issues. The Obama administration has been considering a residual force of between 3,000 and 9,000 troops in Afghanistan to conduct counterterrorism operations while providing training and assistance for Afghan forces. But the administration said this week it did not rule out a complete withdrawal after 2014. While Karzai has been critical of U.S. troop activity in Afghanistan, it is unclear how Afghan forces would perform without U.S. helicopters, medical facilities, intelligence and other military support, of which Afghanistan has very little. "After a long and difficult past, we finally are, I believe, at the last chapter of establishing ... a sovereign Afghanistan that can govern and secure itself for the future," Panetta told Karzai after a welcoming ceremony at the Pentagon that included an honour guard and 21-gun salute. Panetta said 2013 would mark an important step in the war, with Afghans due to take over the lead role for security across the country. "We've come a long way towards a shared goal of establishing a nation that you and we can be proud of, one that never again becomes a safe haven for terrorism," Panetta said. "Our partnership, forged ... through almost 11 years of shared sacrifice, is a key to our ability to achieve the final mission." STRAINS IN RELATIONSHIP Karzai's three-day visit to Washington follows a year of growing strains on the U.S.-Afghan partnership, including incidents in which Afghan soldiers or police attacked and killed U.S. or coalition troops. U.S. forces also were involved in a series of incidents that enraged Afghans, including burning Korans, which touched off days of rioting. In addition to discussing the U.S. troop presence after 2014, the two countries are negotiating long-term support for the Afghan military. Afghan officials came with a list of military equipment, including aircraft, they hoped to obtain. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he and Afghan Defence Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi discussed the equipment issue and agreed to start with a broader review of Afghanistan's threats and military needs. "What we talked about yesterday was ... let's move beyond a wish list of equipment and start by discussing what is your vision for the future of the Afghan military against threats and requirements," Dempsey said. "He was very open, very eager to enter into that kind of comprehensive strategic review, and from that will come ... a view of how to move from where they are today, which is clearly focused on counterinsurgency, to something they may wish to become in the future," he said. Karzai, in remarks in Panetta's office, said he was confident that the two sides during his trip would "work out a modality for a bilateral security agreement" in the interests of both countries. The United States is insisting on immunity for any U.S. troops that remain in Afghanistan. That question also may come up at Karzai's talks with Obama on Friday. (Editing by Paul Simao and Peter Cooney) Copyright © 2013 Reuters |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: World Updates To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan