Pesawat tak berawak AS kini jadi `properti` Iran

Pesawat tak berawak AS yang ditangkap oleh Iran kini menjadi "properti" republik Islam, kata Menteri Pertahanan Ahmad Vahidi Selasa, setelah Presiden AS Barack Obama meminta untuk mengembalikannya.

"Pesawat mata-mata Amerika itu sekarang milik Iran, dan negara kita akan memutuskan apa langkah yang harus diambil mengenai hal itu," kata Vahidi seperti dikutip oleh Kantor berita ISNA.

"Jangankah meminta maaf kepada bangsa Iran, pihaknya (Amerika Serikat) justru berani meminta kembali pesawat tak berawak itu," kata Vahidi, menurut kantor berita yang lain, Mehr.Obama pada Senin mengakui bahwa Iran menyita pesawat pengintainya -RQ-170 Sentinel bersayap kelelawar - dan mengatakan: "Kami sudah meminta kembali. Kami ingin melihat bagaimana tanggapan Iran."

Presiden Obama menyatakan, Senin, Washington telah meminta Iran mengembalikan pesawat tak berawak AS yang kata Teheran ditembak jatuh ketika sedang terbang di wilayah udaranya itu.

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Dugaan kecurangan pemilu Rusia tidak ubah hasil

Juru bicara Perdana Menteri Vladimir Putin, Senin, mengatakan bahwa hasil pemilihan umum parlemen Rusia tidak akan berubah sekalipun ada aksi unjuk rasa besar dan penyelidikan oleh otoritas pemilihan umum.

"Bahkan jika anda menambahkan semua yang disebut bukti ini, jumlahnya tidak hanya 0,5 persen dari total jumlah suara," kata juru bicara Putin Dmitry Peskov kepada AFP melalui telepon.

"Jadi bahkan jika secara hipotetis anda mengakui bahwa mereka dibuktikan di pengadilan, maka dalam hal apapun, ini dalam hal apapun tidak akan mempengaruhi pertanyaan tentang legitimasi dari pemilihan umum tersebut atau hasil keseluruhan," kata Peskov.

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Tersangka pendiri Zetas ditangkap

Seorang tersangka pendiri Zetas yang telah memimpin gerombolan brutal narkotika di Meksiko di 10 negara bagian ditangkap bersama setumpuk senjata, termasuk 168 senapan dan lima peluncur granat, kata pihak berwenang, Selasa (13/12).

Raul Lucio Hernandez Lechuga, alias "El Lucky" atau "Z-16", ditahan Senin (12/12) di dekat kota Kordoba di negara bagian Veracruz, Meksiko timur, bersama empat lagi tersangka anggota Zetas setelah satu operasi selama lebih dari satu tahun, kata pihak Angkatan Laut dan kehakiman di dalam satu pernyataan.

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Panetta sesumbar AS menang perang di Afghanistan

Kepala Pertahanan AS Leon Panetta pada Rabu mengatakan kepada tentara Amerika Serikat bahwa mereka menang dalam perang 10 tahun di Afghanistan.

Ia mengatakan itu dalam kunjungan dengan pokok penyerahan keamanan kepada pasukan Afghanistan saat pasukan Amerika Serikat ditarik.

Panetta berada di Afghanistan untuk meninjau upaya perang Amerika Serikat, yang sesuai dengan jalur untuk menarik 33.000 tentara pada akhir tahun depan dan mengubah pusat perhatian pada peran penasihat dalam pelatihan pasukan keamanan Afghanistan.

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ASEAN prepares statistical data integration

The statistic offices of ASEAN member countries will strengthen coordination and cooperation in realizing more effective and harmonious statistical data integration.

Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) spokesman Suryamin said that the statistical data integration was the theme of the annual regular meeting of ASEAN Community Statistical System (ACSS) Committee in Jakarta on Wednesday.

"In this meeting we are going to discuss the application, definition, and the materials in statistical field that is relevant to ASEAN level," Suryamin said.

He said the main focus of discussion in the ACSS Committee meeting is to improve the quality of statistical data in various fields namely merchandise trade statistics, statistics of trade in services, foreign direct investment statistics, and the millennium development goals indicators.

"We will consolidate and collect data over a wide range of important indicators and then combine and coordinate them through ASEAN Secretariat," Suryamin said.

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China deports 5,000 N. Korea refugees annually

China repatriates about 5,000 North Korean refugees each year even though they often face harsh punishment on their return, South Korean activists said Tuesday.

North Koreans who make the risky journey across the border into China only to be returned to their homeland face torture, imprisonment and even execution in extreme cases, the activists said.

"It is believed that the number of repatriated North Korean refugees reaches 5,000 per year," said Kim Suk-Woo, a former vice unification minister who now works for a rights group in Seoul.

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RI govt repatriates overstayers from Saudi Arabia

The Indonesian government has repatriated 1572 Indonesian overstayers in Saudi Arabia using hajj empty flights which divided in groups since October 30, 2011.

Most of these overstayers entered Saudi Arabia using their working permit visa then ran from their employers while some others entered using their "Umrah" (Muslim?s Pilgrimage) visa who then work illegally, said the Information, social and culture consul at the Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah Cahyono Rustam, in an email to ANTARA received here Wednesday.

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ASEAN common visa to boost tourist flow to region

Adoption of a common visa system by ASEAN member countries will definitely lead to an increase in the flow of tourists to the Southeast Asian region, including Indonesia, an Indonesian official said.

"If the ASEAN common visa system is applied, it will have a positive impact on tourism in the region," PLE Priatna, a senior official at the foreign affairs ministry`s ASEAN Cooperation directorate general, said here recently.

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Syria`s Assad warns of "earthquake" if West intervenes-paper

Western powers risk causing an "earthquake" that would burn the Middle East if they intervene in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with Britain`s Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

Assad has drawn repeated condemnation from the United Nations, Arab League and Western governments for the violent manner in which he has attempted to crush a seven-month uprising against his rule.

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Fujimori family wants pardon for Peru ex-leader

Relatives of Peru`s ailing ex-president Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses, will ask the government to free him on humanitarian grounds, his brother said Saturday.

The 73-year-old Fujimori, who served as Peru`s president from 1990-2000, is suffering from cancer and was hospitalized earlier this month after falling out of bed in prison.

Fujimori fled to his parents` native Japan in the final days of his presidency in the midst of a massive corruption scandal, and then resigned via fax from a Tokyo hotel in late 2000.

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Somalia`s Al Shabaab attacks AU base, two injured

Two African Union peacekeepers were injured on Saturday when Somalia`s al Shabaab rebels attacked one of the mission`s bases in Mogadishu, a spokesman for the force said.

The al Qaeda-allied insurgents are battling to overthrow Somalia`s Transitional Federal Government and impose their own version of sharia law on the nation.

The 9,000-strong AU peacekeeping force propping up the government and fighting al Shabaab is made up of soldiers from Uganda and Burundi.

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Libya envoy says Kadhafi not shot in detention

Preliminary reports from the inquiry into the death of Moamer Kadhafi indicate he was not shot after his detention last week, a Libyan envoy told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

"According to initial reports, none of the revolutionaries fired at him after arresting him," said Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya`s deputy UN ambassador.

Dabbashi spoke at a Security Council meeting on Libya where concern about human rights was again raised. Kadhafi died last Thursday in mysterious circumstances and his body was buried at a secret desert location on Monday.

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Woman rescued three days after Turkey quake

Emergency workers rescued a 27-year-old woman alive from a collapsed building on Wednesday, three days after an earthquake killed more than 400 people in eastern Turkey, but hopes of finding more survivors faded and some teams were suspending searches.

Tens of thousands have been left homeless by the powerful 7.2 magnitude quake, which has now prompted the government to request foreign aid, including from Israel, to shelter distraught families amid growing complaints of a lack of tents and other relief supplies.

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Awlaqi son among militants killed in Yemen strikes

A son of US-born Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar Al-Awlaqi was among seven suspected jihadist militants killed in a trio of apparent US air stikes in Yemen, a member of his tribe said on Saturday.

"Abderrahman Anwar al-Awlaqi was killed in the raid," the tribal source told AFP, adding that he had received confirmation from the militant-controlled Yemeni hospital where the dead and wounded from Friday evening`s strikes were taken.

Awlaqi himself was killed in a US drone stike on September 30, which US President Barack Obama hailed as a "major blow" to Al-Qaeda worldwide.

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Suu Kyi wins international relations prize

Myanmar democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi has won this year`s Chatham House prize for her contribution to the improvement of international relations, the British think-tank said Friday.

The 66-year-old`s fight to bring political change to Myanmar, for which she has had to spend most of the last two decades under house arrest, had made her an international symbol of democracy and peaceful resistance, it said.

"Her consistently measured and non-violent approach towards ending military rule in Burma has served as a powerful example to all those struggling to bring about democratic and accountable systems of governance in their countries," said Chatham House director Robin Niblett.

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Moammer Kadhafi was loved by his people

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Friday that ousted Libyan leader Moamer was loved by his people and that the rebellion that toppled him was not a popular uprising.
"This wasn`t a popular uprising," like in other north African countries "where the wind of freedom begins to blow," he told young supporters of his People of Freedom party gathered in Rome.
"Powerful men decided to give life to a new era by putting out Kadhafi," he said.
"This wasn`t a popular uprising because Kadhafi was loved by his people, as I was able to see when I went to Libya."

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Mexico leader, Felipe Calderon meets Dalai Lama

Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Friday held "private" talks with the Dalai Lama -- a move sure to irritate China, which says the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader is bent on independence.

Calderon`s office said in a statement that the pair had discussed "the importance of promoting ethical values in contemporary society."

The Mexican leader reiterated his country`s adherence to the "one-China principle" and its recognition of China`s full sovereignty over Tibet.

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Oliver Stone set to travel to iran to make Ahmadinejad documentary

American Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone is due to travel to Tehran to film a documentary, semi-official news agency Fars reported.

Stone is expected to arrive in the Iranian capital within the next two or three weeks, according to the report.

In 2007 Stone announced his plan to make a documentary about Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but scheduling conflicts prompted him to postpone the project.

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Mengenal 'Sang Pembunuh' Usamah bin Ladin (2), Mata-Mata yang Seperti Pustakawan

Lazimnya seorang intelejen, sosok Michael G Vickers, sangat berbeda jauh dari gambaran agen-agen rahasia di film Hollywood.

Vickers malah lebih mirip dengan seorang pengacara yang rapi, dengan jas hitam, kemeja putih, dan kacamata. Bukan seseorang yang mengerti tentang rudal Stinger atau senjata AK-47.

Adik Vickers, Richard, yang bekerja sebagai pegawai rumah sakit, mengatakan, "Tiap kali saya mengenalkan kakak saya ke teman-teman, mereka selalu mengatakan dia sangat sopan. Mereka kira dia kerja di perpustakaan."

Dalam buku Charlie Wilson's War, yang diangkat menjadi film oleh Hollywood, Vickers digambarkan sebagai sosok agen intelejen yang romatis dan doyan film-film James Bond.

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Hunt on for killer shark in Australia

A hunt was under way Monday for a shark that killed a 21-year-old man as police praised the courage of two surfers who brought his body back to shore.
The victim was in the water off Bunker Bay, a popular tourist spot on Australia's west coast, when the shark attacked on Sunday, biting him so badly the lower half of his body was torn away, police said.
Local reports said a Great White Shark, up to 4.5 metres long (14.7 feet), was thought to be responsible, with a plane and boats scouring the coastline to find it with the beach remaining closed.

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