World in brief: Americans face terrorism charges
SARGODHA, Pakistan – Five Americans suspected of plotting attacks in Pakistan are due to appear in an anti-terrorism court today.
Police have said they will seek life sentences on terrorism charges against the five young Muslim men, who are from the Washington, D.C., area.
The five were arrested in the eastern Pakistan city of Sargodha in early December in a case that has spurred fears that Westerners are traveling to Pakistan to join militant groups.
Under Pakistan’s judicial system, police will recommend charges during the court appearance. However, the court might not charge the men immediately, and the five will likely be given time to prepare their defense.
U.N. official sees Afghan setback
KABUL, Afghanistan – The head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said Sunday that parliament’s rejection of most of President Hamid Karzai’s nominees for a new Cabinet will delay efforts to establish a functioning government that can focus on badly needed reforms.
Kai Eide said he was surprised that lawmakers rejected 17 of Karzai’s 24 picks. Karzai will now have to spend time submitting new Cabinet nominees, delaying his second-term government’s ability to fully partner with donor nations ahead of an international conference on Afghanistan in London on Jan. 28, he said.
“I think most of us were surprised at how many ministers were not approved by the parliament,” Eide said. “It’s a setback and it’s a distraction.”
Iranian journalist gets prison, exile
TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian journalist lost an appeal Sunday against his conviction on charges of spreading propaganda against the ruling Islamic establishment and was sentenced to six years in prison and five years of internal exile in a remote desert town.
The court also confirmed a lifelong ban on political activity for the prominent reporter, Ahmad Zeidabadi.
Zeidabadi was among more than 100 political figures and activists tried together in the aftermath of Iran’s disputed presidential election, which the opposition says was rigged to give Mahmoud Ahmadinejad another term in office.
Somali had been arrested in Kenya
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – The Somali man who attacked an artist who depicted the Prophet Muhammad in a controversial cartoon has previously been arrested in Kenya, Danish media reported Sunday.
The Danish intelligence agency PET knew that the 28-year-old Somali man was held in Kenya in September for allegedly participating in plotting an attack against U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Politiken newspaper reported Sunday. Citing unnamed sources, it said he was later released due to lack of evidence.
Clinton visited Kenya as part of an 11-day-tour of Africa in August.
Denmark’s ambassador to Kenya, Bo Jensen, told the news agency Ritzau that the Somali man was arrested in Kenya at the time for having incomplete travel documents. But he said Kenyan authorities never told the embassy he was suspected in a terror plot and that the newspaper misunderstood.