At least 400 civilians killed by drone strikes: UN report

Posted: UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Pakistan has confirmed that of some 2,200 people killed by drone strikes in the past decade, at least 400 were civilians and an additional 200 victims were deemed probable non-combatants, a U.N. human rights investigator said on Friday.Ben Emmerson, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, also urged the United States to release its own data on the number of civilian casualties caused by its drone strikes.Emmerson said Pakistan's Foreign Ministry told him it had recorded at least 330 drone strikes in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan's largely lawless region bordering Afghanistan, since 2004.Clearing out militant border sanctuaries is seen by Washington as crucial to bringing stability to Afghanistan, particularly as the U.S.-led combat mission ends in 2014. Most, but not all, attacks with unmanned aerial vehicles have been by the United States. Britain and Israel have also used them.In an interim report to U.N. General Assembly released on Friday, Emmerson said Pakistani government records showed that drone strikes had killed at least 2,200 people and seriously wounded at least 600 since 2004.He said Pakistan had confirmed that at least 400 civilians had been killed as a result of remotely piloted aircraft strikes and a further 200 individuals were regarded as probable non-combatants.Officials indicated that, owing to underreporting and obstacles to effective investigation, those figures were likely to be an underestimate of civilian deaths, Emmerson said.Emmerson, who visited Pakistan in March, noted that principal media monitoring organizations had recorded a marked drop in reported civilians casualties from drone strikes in the tribal areas during 2012 and the first half of 2013.The tribal areas have never been fully integrated into Pakistan's administrative, economic or judicial system. They are dominated by ethnic Pashtun tribes, some of which have sheltered and supported militants over decades of conflict in Afghanistan.The involvement of CIA in lethal counter-terrorism operations in Pakistan and Yemen has created an almost insurmountable obstacle to transparency, Emmerson said.One consequence is that the United States has to date failed to reveal its own data on the level of civilian casualties inflicted through the use of remotely piloted aircraft in classified operations conducted in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Kerry to meet Nawaz on Sunday Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry will hold talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here on Sunday at the start of the highest level official Pakistani visit to the United States in several years.The two men would meet before Kerry heads on a visit to Europe, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.Sharif is also due to meet President Barack Obama on Tuesday, October 23, for the highest level White House talks between the two countries since the start of the US administration in 2009, another US official said.Its an opportunity to broaden and deepen the relationship that weve both been working very hard towards in the last few years, the senior State Department official said.Topping the agenda are likely to be counter-terrorism efforts, as well as Pakistans concerns over its economy and energy supply.Sharif was elected in May, and Washington has praised his efforts to reduce tensions in South Asia.Relations with the United States have also improved since they plunged to one of their lowest points in 2011 amid the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a US commando raid in Pakistan, as well as the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a US airstrike.There have been significant irritants which I think have reduced quite a bit over the course of the last year, the US official said.Washington needs Pakistans cooperation as it prepares to withdraw thousands of pieces of heavy equipment from Afghanistan ahead of the end of NATO combat operations at the end of 2014.It is also looking to Pakistan to try to help with reconciliation efforts between the Taliban and Afghan leaders.The United States also wants the Pakistani government to do more to crack down on militant havens. Pakistan, meanwhile, is chafing at continued US drone strikes against militants on its territory.Drones are part of a very comprehensive conversation we have on security across the board, the US official said.As we talk about all these security issues that will be a key theme, not drones necessarily, but the security situation writ large.

Initial report of suicide attack at Gandapurs residence released Posted: PESHAWAR (Online) - The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Department has issued the initial report of the Dera Ismail Khan suicide bombing in which provincial Law Minister Israrullah Gandapur was killed.According to the Home Secretary, the attacker was a local of the area and was between 20-22 years old. The attacker was wearing a pagri (turban) and spoke to Israrullah Gandapur in the local language. The report further states that the attacker detonated his explosive-rigged vest while offering Eid greetings to Gandapur.The provincial law minister was among ten people killed in the suicide attack at his residence on the first day of Eidul Azha.

Only MQM can pull country out of crisis: Altaf Posted: LONDON (Online) - Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief, Altaf Hussain has said that MQM is the only party of Pakistan that can pull the country out of the quagmire of problems and difficulties.In a statement issued here, the MQM Chief said the parties that only came up with the slogans and advises lacked to the courage to make bold decisions keeping in view Pakistan’s stability.Altaf Hussain said that MQM is not only able to resolve the internal issues but also possesses the courage to make decisions under the foreign policy of the country with a focus on Pakistan’s integrity.

International conference on Syria in London on Tuesday Posted: LONDON (AFP) - Britain will host an international conference on the Syrian conflict next Tuesday to prepare the way for a planned peace meeting in Geneva, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Friday.The conference in London will bring together representatives of the Syrian opposition and the foreign ministers of the so-called London 11, the core group of the Friends of Syria, including the United States, France and Saudi Arabia.Hague said the nations would discuss preparations for the Geneva Conference, support for the (opposition) Syrian National Coalition, and our efforts to achieve a political settlement to this tragic conflict.US Secretary of State John Kerry said this week it was urgent to set a date for the so-called Geneva 2 meeting, but that peace was impossible while President Bashar al-Assad remained in power.Representatives of the leadership of the National Coalition will attend the London meeting.The London 11 consists of Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.Syrias close ally Russia, which helped to avert US-led military action against the Assad regime by brokering a deal to dispose of its chemical weapons, is not attending the London talks.

UN envoy heads to Egypt to prepare Syria talks Posted: GENEVA (AFP) - The UN special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, will on Saturday visit Egypt as he kicks off a regional tour to prepare for peace talks on Syria dubbed Geneva 2, his spokesman said.Brahimi will meet Egypts foreign minister Nabil Fahmy as well as the Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi, spokesman Khawla Mattar said in Geneva on Friday.The rest of his schedule is uncertain due to various governments being on holiday because of the main Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, but Mattar said the tour will cover several countries of the region.This will include visits to Damascus and Tehran.The international community has for months been pushing Syrias rebels and the regime to participate in talks on a negotiated solution to the conflict, which has killed an estimated 115,000 people since March 2011.Syrias Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil said proposed peace talks in Geneva could take place on November 23-24.However Mattar said the date for the long awaited peace conference will be announced by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in due time.She said the meeting was likely to place in the second half of November.Prospects for the Geneva 2 conference remain unclear, with the Syrian opposition divided and due to vote next week on whether to take part.

Activists: Shelling in northern Syria kills 20 Posted: BEIRUT (AP) - Regime forces and Syrian rebels fighting for control of a small but strategic town in the countrys embattled northern province of Aleppo have killed at least 20 people, most of them civilians, activists said Friday.Meanwhile, rebels killed at least 30 Syrian soldiers, including ten who were executed after they were captured, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said the civilians in the town of Tel Aran in the northern Alepppo province were killed in a series of attacks.It said a family of seven people including four children were killed when their vehicle was shelled. Another 12 people were killed in shelling that hit a residential building, including six children, the group said. On Thursday, a father and son were also killed in the shelling, it said.The town of Tal Aran lies close to Safira, which forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have been trying to wrest from hard-line Muslim rebels for the past few weeks. A military complex near Safira is believed to include an underground facility for chemical weapons production and storage.Tal Arans residents are mostly ethnic Kurds whose militias were pushed out by rebels of al-Qaidas Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in July. Now they are caught in crossfire between the extremist rebels and Syrian forces.Near the town of Khanaser in the same province, rebels killed 20 Syrian soldiers in clashes, the Observatory said. It wasnt immediately clear which rebel group killed the soldiers.And in the eastern Syrian town of Deir al-Zour, rebels of the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra or Nusra Front executed 10 soldiers they captured during clashes, the Observatory said. The executions came a day after a top military intelligence officer was killed in clashes in the city.Also Friday, the international agency overseeing the destruction of Syrias chemical weapons stockpile said that inspectors have visited 14 sites in the country since they started work on Oct. 1.The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations are working to verify Syrias initial declaration of its weapons program and render production and chemical mixing facilities inoperable by Nov. 1. Their work on the ground involves smashing control panels on machines and destroying empty munitions.The OPCW said earlier that inspectors carried out destruction work at six sites.In neighboring Lebanon, a Canadian lawyer who was abducted while serving with the U.N. observer force in Syrias Golan Heights flew out hours after he arrived in Beirut. Lebanese officials said Carl Campeau, held captive since February, boarded a plane to Turkey amid tight security.Also in Lebanon, European Union ambassadors met President Michel Suleiman and discussed how the Syrian civil war is affecting his country, which hosts the largest percentage of Syrian refugees in the region.Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst said after the meeting that an additional 70 million euros ($95 million) will be allocated by the EUs humanitarian agency to help the poorest refugees through the winter.At least 100,000 Syrians have been killed in the countrys civil war, now in its third year.

Iraq violence including Baghdad car bomb kills 19 Posted: BAGHDAD (AFP) - A car bomb near an ice-cream shop in Baghdad killed 12 people Friday, while seven died in other attacks, officials said, bringing the October death toll to more than 420.The car bomb in the Mashtal area of east Baghdad also wounded 23 people, interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan told AFP.In Sinjar, west of the northern city of Mosul, militants shot dead a mother and three sons, all members of the Yazidi religious sect, at their home.And a bomb near a house in Baquba, also north of Baghdad, killed two members of the same family and wounded five, while gunmen killed one Sahwa anti-Al-Qaeda fighter and wounded another in an attack on a checkpoint near the city.The attacks came a day after violence, including a suicide bombing targeting members of the Shabak minority group near Mosul and a wave of car bombs in Baghdad, killed 77 people and wounded more than 200.Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.The surge in unrest, which has included sectarian attacks, has raised fears of a relapse into the intense bloodshed that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.Analysts say the Shiite-led governments failure to address the grievances of Iraqs Sunni Arab minority -- which complains of political exclusion and abuses by security forces -- has driven the surge in unrest this year.Violence worsened sharply after security forces stormed a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq on April 23, sparking clashes in which dozens died.The authorities have made some concessions aimed at placating the protesters and Sunnis in general, such as freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of Sunni anti-Al-Qaeda fighters, but the underlying issues remain unaddressed.With the latest attacks, more than 420 people have been killed so far this month, and over 5,100 since the beginning of the year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.

Obama nominates new Homeland Security chief Posted: WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama Friday named Jeh Johnson, a former top Pentagon lawyer, to lead the Department of Homeland Security.Johnson would succeed Janet Napolitano who left earlier this year.In his previous role, Johnson helped design and implement many of the policies that have kept our country safe, including our success in dismantling the core of Al-Qaeda and the Fatah, Obama said at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.Hes been there in the situation room. At the table, in moments of decision, the president said, stressing that, from the moment I took office, Jeh was an absolutely critical member of my national security team.Johnson said he found he could not refuse the nomination, even though he had left the government to return to private practice.I am a New Yorker. And I was present in Manhattan on 9/11, which happens to be my birthday, he said.As the Pentagons top lawyer, Johnson was responsible for a prior legal review of every military operation ordered by the president or the secretary of defense.He was also part of a review team behind the repeal of the Dont Ask, Dont Tell prohibition on gays serving openly in the military, earlier in the Obama administration.And he was involved in legal decisions surrounding the US drone program that has targeted terror suspects, and other key military operations.The Homeland Security Department was set up after the September 11 attacks in 2001, and is responsible for counter-terror operations and protection on US soil.It also oversees border enforcement, agencies including the Secret Service and works to combat natural disasters such as hurricanes.Johnson served as the Defense Departments general counsel during Obamas first term.His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.

Tennis: Nadal withdraws from Swiss Indoors Posted: MADRID (AFP) - World number one Rafael Nadal has pulled out of next weeks Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, citing his tiring schedule in recent weeks for his decision.Hi all, sorry to announce that I wont travel to Basel in Switzerland but after very exhausting weeks I have to regroup my fitness and my body, he wrote on his Facebook page.I will do my best to come back to the Swiss Indoors next year.The Spaniard has had a remarkable year, winning 10 titles including the French and US Opens to reclaim his spot as the number one player in the world.However, the first signs that his demanding season may be starting to take its toll came in his recent tour of China where he was beaten in the final of the China Open by Novak Djokovic and then comprehensively defeated by Juan Martin del Potro in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters last week.Nadal is expected to return to action at the Paris Masters at the end of the month ahead the season ending World Tour Finals in London in November.

Stosur faces Kuznetsova in Kremlin Cup semifinals Posted: MOSCOW (AP) - Samantha Stosur will face doubles partner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup after both players won in straight sets Friday.Stosur extended her unbeaten run to eight matches by defeating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-4, while Kuznetsova beat second-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-3.In the mens quarterfinals, top-seeded Richard Gasquet ousted Russian wild-card entry Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-2, while defending champion Andreas Seppi of Italy made it into his fifth semifinal of the season after Edouard Roger-Vasselin retired with a neck strain while trailing 5-2.In a rematch of last years three-set semifinal match between former Grand Slam champions, Ivanovic took a 3-0 lead but Stosur broke back twice to win the opener. An early break in the second set was enough for the Australian to defeat the former top-ranked Ivanovic for the second straight year.Probably having a match won here last year, I certainly had a few things in my head that I wanted to try to do today against her, Stosur said. And right from the start it was kind of working and from that my confidence kind of built, and I was able to keep going and play well till the end.Last Sunday, Stosur won the fifth title of her career in Osaka, Japan, while Ivanovic lost in the Linz final.Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam champion, broke twice in the first set. But Vinci offered more resistance in the second, trading breaks twice before the Russian took a 4-2 lead.Today I played really well in the first set with some slight mistakes in the second, which I managed to overcome, Kuznetsova said. I hope Ill be able to boost my performance in the next matches as well.The Russian will be playing in her first semifinal this season and her first at a home event since she lost to Serena Williams in 2007.In the second semifinal Saturday, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will face fifth-seeded Simona Halep.Pavlyuchenkova eliminated Klara Zakopalova 6-0, 6-4, while Halep routed Alisa Kleybanova 6-1, 6-1.In the mens tournament, Gasquet broke early in the first set and took a 4-0 lead in the second to eliminate the last Russian left in the draw.The Frenchman is looking for the eighth spot at the ATP finals in London next month. But he suffered an early exit at Shanghai last week and dropped to 10th in the rankings, hampering his chances of qualifying.Gasquet will next play Croatian veteran Ivo Karlovic, who advanced to his second semifinal of the season by winning eight consecutive games and landing 11 aces to rout Russian teenager Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-0.Roger-Vasselin strained his neck during the warm-up and had it treated after the first game.From his first service game and down in the match he couldnt serve normally, Seppi said. I would never like to win like this but sometimes it happens.Seppi will next play Mikhail Kukushkin, who beat Andrey Golubev 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Tsonga joins Haas, Haase, Rosol in Vienna semis Posted: VIENNA (AP) - Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga outlasted the 149th-ranked Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3) Friday to reach the semifinals of the Erste Bank Open.Tsonga will take on Robin Haase of the Netherlands for a place in Sundays final, while second-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany faces Lukas Rosol of Czech Republic in the other semifinal.The eighth-ranked Frenchman, who won the event in 2011, missed a match point at 5-4 in the final set but converted his second chance in the tiebreaker after 2 hours, 15 minutes as Thiem hit a forehand long.I was really poor from the baseline but I served well, said Tsonga, who had 16 aces. I have played many matches like this so I have the experience.That made the difference. I am not in a good shape, I have to fight to win matches.The 20-year-old Thiem, who played in only his second quarterfinal, said the match was unbelievable.A third-set tiebreaker means the match could have gone either way, Thiem said. I am proud I could match a top-10 player.Haas reached his seventh semifinal of the season by defeating fifth-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (10), 6-3. The victory kept the 12th-ranked German in the running to qualify for next months ATP World Tour Finals in London.I live from match to match, said Haas, who has never before played in the season-ending event.Haas failed to serve out the opening set at 6-5 but won the tiebreaker after saving four set points for Stepanek. He converted his only break point in the second set.It was mentally and physically tough, the second-seeded Haas said. The tiebreaker was really great from both of us. I felt it was important to win it. If Id lost it, I would have been very frustrated.Haase, who won both his career titles in Austria, rallied to defeat third-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1 to advance to his fourth semifinal of the season.Haase didnt face a break point in the entire match. Fognini had 32 baseline errors and ended the match with his second double-fault.I had my chances in the first set as well but lost it as he played an incredible passing shot, Haase said. When I was 3-1 up in the decider and won five straight points from 40-0 down, I knew I wasnt going to lose this match.Earlier, Rosol beat Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Rosol broke the 176th-ranked qualifier once each in the first and final sets to reach his second career semifinal, and first since winning his maiden title in Bucharest in April.

Football: Real Madrid to meet PSG in January friendly Posted: MADRID (AFP) - Real Madrid will face French champions Paris Saint-Germain in a friendly in Doha on January 2, the Spanish club confirmed on Friday.It will be the second time the clubs have met in barely six months after Real emerged 1-0 victors from a pre-season friendly between the two in Gothenburg back in July.PSG have strong links with the Qatari capital as they are owned by Qatar Sports Investments.Both sides will be on their mid-season winter break at the time, with Real returning to league action the following weekend, whilst Ligue 1 doesnt return until January 11.

Nice stuns Marseille 1-0 in French league Posted: PARIS (AP) - Dario Cvitanich scored the winning goal as Nice beat Marseille 1-0 on Friday to go level on points with third-place Lille in the French league.Cvitanich collected a through ball from Mahamane Traore to score from a tight angle in the 40th minute.Nice is still undefeated at home this season while Marseille suffered its third straight defeat in all competitions to be level with Nice and Lille, four points behind leader Monaco.Theres still a long way to go, but if we keep performing like we did tonight, we can go very far, Nice defender Timothee Kolodziejczak said.Nice finished fourth last season.Also Friday, Toulouse beat Reims 2-1 to provisionally climb to seventh place.Oscar Trejo gave Toulouse the lead with a header in the 42nd before Reims midfielder Prince Oniangue equalized with a curling shot from the edge of the box in the 56th.Toulouse forward Martin Braithwaite converted a penalty in the 86th after Reims midfielder Antoine Devaux received a red card for fouling Clement Chantome.Mid-table Reims stretched its winless streak to seven games.On Saturday, its: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bastia; Ajaccio vs. Nantes; Evian vs. Guingamp; Montpellier vs. Lille; and Rennes vs. Valenciennes.On Sunday, Monaco visits Sochaux, Lyon hosts Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne faces Lorient.Marseille threatened early with crosses from the left flank. Mathieu Valbuena found Andre Ayew in the sixth minute but the Ghana winger headed over the bar. Then Florian Thauvin met a cross from leftback Jeremy Morel in the 15th but Nice goalkeeper David Ospina turned his 16-yard volley around the post.The Marseille defense was forced to reorganize itself in the eighth minute when Souleymane Diawara replaced Brazilian centerback Lucas Mendes, who picked up an ankle injury.Nice capitalized on that substitution to find space inside the Marseille area. An unmarked Nemanja Pejcinovic knocked the ball down for Cvitanich in the 10th instead of attempting to score with a header and Marseille defender Nicolas Nkoulou was able to clear the danger.Nice midfielder Mahamane Traore also had plenty of space in the 22nd but missed the target from 12 yards after a cross from Kolodziejczak.Nice grew more confident and came close to scoring in the 31st. Cvitanich controlled a cross from Kolodziejczak to feed winger Jeremy Pied, whose powerful half-volley crashed against the bar.Nice finally broke the deadlock in the 40th. Cvitanich beat the offside trap to round goalkeeper Steve Mandanda for his sixth goal this season.Marseilles best chances in the first half came from set pieces. A corner from Thauvin eluded the Nice defense in the 34th, but Diawara missed a tap-in from five yards. On the stroke of halftime, Traore protected the hosts lead by clearing off the line Andre-Pierre Gignacs header from a corner.Marseille pushed for an equalizer in the second half but Ospina denied Giannelli Imbula in the 46th, parried a powerful strike from Thauvin in the 56th before stopping a header from Gignac in the 79th.Marseille also lacked the finishing touch twice. In the 67th, Valbuena played Ayew in but the wingers close-range effort hit the post. Ayew then connected with a free kick from Valbuena in the 76th but sent his volley wide.In stoppage time, Ospina preserved his teams victory by saving a header from Ayew.We could have been more accurate at times but Ospina had a great game, Marseille coach Elie Baup said. I dont blame my players. They tried everything in the second half to come back.Ospina helped Colombia win 2-1 Tuesday in Paraguay to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

NASA: Asteroid coming close in 2032 no concern Posted: WASHINGTON (AP) - NASA says a big asteroid that whizzed by Earth last month unnoticed is probably nothing to worry about when it returns much closer in 19 years.NASA Near-Earth Object program manager Donald Yeomans said there is a 1 in 48,000 chance that the 1,300-foot (400-meter) asteroid will hit Earth when it returns on Aug. 26, 2032.The asteroid called 2013 TV135 was discovered Oct. 8, nearly a month after it came within 4.2 million miles (6.7 million kilometers) of Earth. Yeomans said as astronomers observe and track it better, they will likely calculate that it has no chance of hitting Earth.Although big, the asteroid is considerably smaller than the type that caused the dinosaur extinction.NASA posted a reality check about the asteroid in response to some media reports.