theSun | FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11 2009
news without borders
LONDON: British press questioned
yesterday whether military force
should have been used to rescue a
journalist held hostage in Afghani-
stan, after his assistant, two civilians
and a soldier were killed.
Nato commandos on Wednesday
rescued New York Times reporter
Stephen Farrell, who has dual Brit-
ish-Irish nationality and was being
held by the Taliban, in an airborne
raid and shootout in the country’s
north.
Farrell and his Afghan colleague
were snatched four days earlier
while they were reporting on a Nato
air strike that targeted fuel tankers
and killed scores of people, sparking
intense anger in Afghanistan.
Negotiations had been under way
with the Taliban to secure the safe
release of Farrell and his assistant
Sultan Munadi before the raid was
undertaken, newspapers in London
said.
The Times newspaper, quoting
briefs
Six killed in shopping
centre collapse
NEW DELHI: At least six people were
killed and three were injured after a
shopping centre collapsed in a New
Delhi suburb, police said yesterday.
The three-storey City Centre build-
ing, which was being partially renovated
at the time, collapsed on Wednesday in
Faridabad. Rescue services worked at
the site until the early hours of yester-
day. The three injured survivors were
being treated at a local hospital. Kumar
said about 60 people inside the building
had a lucky escape. – dpa
Ellen DeGeneres to
judge new ‘Idol’
LOS ANGELES: Comedian and talk
show host Ellen DeGeneres has
been named as the new judge on
hit television series American Idol,
British press questions
raid to free journalist
defence sources, said British forces
feared that Farrell could be moved
and there were no guarantees that
negotiations would have led to his
and Munadi’s release.
However, several sources quoted
by the newspaper said that the kid-
nappers were, at worst, only seeking
a ransom.
“There was no immediate ur-
gency that they were going to be
replacing Paula Abdul for the upcom-
ing season of the ratings giant.
DeGeneres said she was “thrilled”
to land the position, where she will be
the permanent replacement for Abdul,
who quit the show earlier this year
amid reports of a contract dispute.
“I’ve watched since the beginning
and I’ve always been a huge fan, so
getting this job is a dream come
true,” DeGeneres said. – AFP
Hefner seals divorce
after 11-year separation
LOS ANGELES: Playboy mogul Hugh
Hefner has sealed his divorce from
second wife Kimberley Conrad, 11 years
after separating from the former model,
reports said on Wednesday. Hefner, 83,
told the TMZ.com entertainment news
site he was making his split with Conrad
final after she filed a lawsuit last month
relating to the sale of a house the cou-
ple owned together
Hefner said he had remained legally
married to Conrad, with whom he had
two sons, at the request of the former
centrefold.
“At the time of the separation, I was
beheaded or handed over to another
group. You cannot move them easily.
It’s a very isolated area,” a Western
source involved in the talks told the
paper. Munadi, a father of two, was
shot dead and two other Afghans
were killed, along with the British
soldier in the raid, officials said.
The raid, carried out by British
special forces, dropped by US heli-
copters, was approved by Foreign
happy to get a divorce ... I only remained
married for the sake of the children at
her request,” Hefner told TMZ. Conrad,
47, tied the knot with Hefner in 1989 but
separated in 1998. Hefner told People
magazine he had not ruled out tying the
knot for a third time. Hefner is currently
reported to be dating Playboy models
Crystal Harris, 23, and twins Karissa and
Kristina Shannon, 19. – AFP
French tourist
raped at gunpoint
WELLINGTON: A 24-year-old French
tourist who wanted to experience
“the real New Zealand” was abducted
and raped after he accepted an offer
of accommodation in a derelict house
bus near Opotoki, in North Island.
His rapist, Teiro Ngaa Kitai, 32, a
scrap metal trader, pleaded guilty on
Monday in Tauranga District Court to
three charges of sexually violating
the tourist, the New Zealand Herald
newspaper reported Thursday.
Crown prosecutor Rob Ronayne
told the Herald that the victim
was an experienced traveller who
wanted to get off the beaten track.
Secretary David Miliband and
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth
after consulting with Prime Minister
Gordon Brown, the paper said.
Negotiations had been under
way beforehand with the Taliban’s
“shadow governor” of Kunduz prov-
ince, Mullah Salam, and a deal on
Farrell’s release “seemed possible,”
according to the Guardian.
“He (Salam) was out of money
After a night drinking at the home
of a friend of Kitai’s, Kitai took the
tourist home, threatened him with
an air pistol and forced him to carry
out sexual acts. – dpa
Hariri steps down as
Lebanon PM-designate
BEIRUT: Saad Hariri announced yester-
day he was stepping down as Leba-
non’s prime minister-designate after
the Hezbollah-led opposition rejected
a team he proposed earlier this week.
“Given that my commitment to form-
ing a government of national unity has
run up against difficulties that everyone
now knows about, I announce that I have
informed the president of the republic
that I have abandoned trying to form a
government,” he told journalists.
““I hope that this decision will be in
the interests of Lebanon and will permit
a relaunch of dialogue.” – AFP
Nine couples
wed for RM3.46
LOS ANGELES: Nine couples marked
Wednesday’s special date 09/09/09
7
and open to doing a deal. The plan
was to keep negotiations local and
appeal to the decency of Afghans to
do the right thing and release a civil-
ian journalist,” a Western diplomat
was quoted by the newspaper say-
ing.
“But then Britain’s foreign intel-
ligence service MI6 charged in and,
with next to zero knowledge of the
local situation, decided to launch an
operation.”
However British officials said the
rescue operation had been ordered
after intelligence, including inter-
cepts, suggested that the journalists’
lives were in imminent danger, the
Guardian reported.
In the lead up to the raid, The
Independent newspaper said, a tribal
meeting had been held near Kunduz
with around 250 elders recommend-
ing to the Taliban that the journal-
ists be freed. Britain’s Ministry of
Defence declined to comment on the
reports. – AFP
by getting married for the low price
of just US99 cents (RM3.46).
The mass ceremony took place as
part of a special promotion for the 99
Cents Store in Hollywood, California.
Local TV station KTLA showed the
brides and grooms sauntering down
the aisles adorned in 99-cent flowers
and other bargain decorations. – dpa
Fraud watchdog annuls
votes in Afghan election
KABUL: A UN panel annulled ballots from
dozens of polling stations in Afghani-
stan’s presidential election yesterday,
kicking off a lengthy fraud investigation
that could keep Afghans locked in politi-
cal uncertainty for months.
An Electoral Complaints Commission
(ECC), appointed mainly by the United
Nations, can veto the tally and has said
it has found evidence of fraud.
In a statement yesterday, the ECC
said it had already cancelled all ballots
at dozens of polling stations in Ghazni,
Paktika and Kandahar provinces – its
first step in a complicated process that
officials have said could last weeks, if
not months. – Reuters