Asia marks fifth anniversary of Indian Ocean tsunami

Countries across the Indian Ocean are marking the fifth anniversary of the catastrophic tsunami that killed almost 250,000 people.

In Indonesia's Aceh province, where 170,000 died, thousands held prayers in public mosques and private homes.
On Thai beaches, Buddhist monks chanted prayers as mourners held pictures of loved ones lost five years ago.
Hundreds of tourists also returned to Phuket island to mark one of the worst natural disasters of modern times.

A moment of silence was observed on Phuket's popular Patong Beach marking the time the tsunami struck.
German survivor Ruschitschka Adolf, 73, and his wife Katherina waded into the turquoise seawater to lay white roses as a tribute to the dead.
"We [still] come and stay here because we are alive," Mr Adolf told Reuters news agency.
Other ceremonies were expected in the 14 countries hit by the massive wave.
Communities rebuilt
Thousands of survivors in Indonesia's Aceh province, the hardest-hit area, gathered at mosques and beside the mass graves where tens of thousands were buried.
"None of my family members survived in the tsunami," Siti Aminah, 72, told AFP news agency at a grave site near Banda Aceh, Aceh's capital.
"My children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, they all have gone and left me alone here."
Banda Aceh's main business district, which was completely destroyed by the tsunami, is again bustling with activity, says the BBC's Karishma Vaswani there.
Our correspondent says many have rebuilt their lives thanks to billions of dollars in international aid.
But five years on, the grief and trauma of the disaster are still very real for the people of Aceh, she adds.
After Indonesia, Sri Lanka was the country worst hit by the tsunami.
More than 40,000 people died there and half a million were displaced.
Visitors can still see blackened, destroyed buildings in the country's south and west, the BBC's Charles Haviland reports from Colombo.
There are also large vistas with a view of the ocean from the coast road, which were once blocked by buildings, our correspondent says.
But there has been good recovery too - aid grants have brought some farmers to a higher technical level than before.
And one model village built by a philanthropist - which started out as 1,000 homes for victims - has now developed to take in a health centre, diving classes and more, our correspondent adds.
Unprecedented scale
The tsunami was sparked by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra - the mightiest earthquake in 40 years.
In Aceh province, the quake toppled homes and buildings and sent panicked residents rushing into the streets.
About 20 minutes later, a wall of water up to six stories high surged in from the sea, burying thousands in thick black mud and leaving others to scramble up buildings or cling onto trees.
It was a disaster on an unprecedented scale, the BBC's Rachel Harvey reports from Bangkok.
Apart from the deaths, hundreds of thousands people lost their homes and livelihoods.
No single agency or government could have been prepared for the challenges the tsunami presented, our South-East Asia correspondent says.
Following the disaster, the UN has been designated to coordinate relief work in massive disaster zones.
The so-called Cluster System for emergency response was used to good effect after the Padang earthquake in Indonesia in September, our correspondent says.

Pakistan soldiers held over videoed killing in Karachi

Police in Karachi, Pakistan, say they have arrested two paramilitary soldiers seen on video killing a young man.

Video footage shows the man, Sarfaraz Shah, begging for his life before being shot by six members of the Sindh Rangers paramilitary force.

The Rangers say the young man was caught trying to rob someone. His family denies this.

An inquiry is already under way into the killing of five unarmed Chechens last month by the security forces.

The video from Karachi, which has been broadcast widely on Pakistani television, is disturbing to watch.

It shows a young man in a black T-shirt being dragged by his hair in a public park by a man in plain clothes.

He is pushed towards a group of Sindh Rangers who are in uniform and armed. The young man, who does not appear to be armed, pleads for his life as one of the Rangers points a gun at his neck.

A little later, a Ranger shoots him twice at close range, hitting him in the thigh. The young man is seen writhing on the ground, bleeding heavily and begging for help.

The paramilitaries remain close to the injured man but do nothing to help him. He died from his injuries.

The journalists' union in Karachi have said that the TV cameraman who shot the video had received threats and was being "pressured [by authorities] to say it was a fake".

Sarfaraz's brother, Salik Shah, said he had been the victim of an extrajudicial killing.

The incident has sparked an outcry with some politicians calling for the Rangers involved to be prosecuted.

It comes as a separate inquiry is under way in neighbouring Balochistan Province into the killing of five Chechens by members of the paramilitary.

Five civilians, including a heavily pregnant woman, were shot dead at close range in the western city of Quetta, despite apparently trying to surrender.

Officials initially said that the five family members were armed and were suicide bombers - but this was later found to be u

ntrue.

Russian colonel who killed Chechen girl is shot dead

A Russian colonel who was jailed for murdering a Chechen teenager has been shot dead in central Moscow.

Yuri Budanov was killed on Friday by an unidentified gunman on Komsomolsky Prospekt, a busy avenue in the capital, state prosecutors said.

In 2003 a court upheld his 10-year jail sentence for strangling an 18-year-old girl in war-torn Chechnya in 2000.

But he was released early from jail in January 2009 - a move that angered human rights activists.

Russian media say the gunman, wearing a blue jacket and hood, attacked Budanov at about 1230 (0830 GMT), shooting him six times with a pistol, then fled by car.

The Mitsubishi Lancer getaway car was later found abandoned and on fire, the reports said. A pistol and silencer were found inside.

High-profile case

The Budanov trial was big news in Russia, where very few officers have been prosecuted over abuses committed during Russia's two campaigns against Chechen separatist rebels.

He was the only senior officer to be jailed for crimes committed in Chechnya.

He was found guilty of the kidnapping and strangling of Elza Kungayeva in 2000. An allegation that he had also raped her was dropped.

The murder provoked outrage in Chechnya, where many civilians have died at the hands of Russian forces and the local pro-Moscow militia, during the long war against rebels.

At his re-trial in 2003 Budanov accused Russian media of having swayed the judge, insisting that he was "a Russian soldier who defended his country for the past 20 years".

Budanov was acquitted at his first trial in December 2002, when the court accepted his plea that he had been temporarily insane at the time of the killing.

But the Russian supreme court ordered a re-trial, where he was found to have been of sound mind at the time. He was found guilty and stripped of his rank and the Order of Courage, which he had won in breakaway Chechnya.

Budanov told the court he believed that Kungayeva was a Chechen sniper and that a fit of rage had come over him as he interrogated her.

The lawyer representing Kungayeva's family, Stanislav Markelov, was shot dead in Moscow in January 2009, along with a journalist, Anastasia Baburova, who was with him at the time.

Last month a court in Moscow sentenced a Russian nationalist to life imprisonment for the double murder. His partner was also jailed.

Afghan CIA bomber 'was courted as potential informant'

The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents in Afghanistan had been courted by the US as a possible informant, US intelligence sources have said.

They said he had not undergone the usual full body search before entering the base in Khost province, and so was able to smuggle in an explosive belt.

The attack was the worst against US intelligence officials since the US embassy in Beirut was bombed in 1983.

US President Barack Obama has praised the work of those killed in a letter.

Paying tribute to the fallen, Mr Obama said those killed were "part of a long line of patriots who have made great sacrifices for their fellow citizens, and for our way of life".

He told CIA employees in a letter that the victims had "taken great risks to protect our country" and that their sacrifices had "sometimes been unknown to your fellow citizens, your friends, and even your families".

Claim questioned

From the moment the bomb was detonated inside the base on Wednesday, says the BBC's Peter Greste in Kabul, questions were raised about how he managed to pass through security.

But now intelligence sources familiar with the investigation have said that CIA agents working from Forward Operating Base Chapman had been attempting to recruit the man as a potential informant.

A US official, and former CIA employee, said such people were often not required to go through full security checks in order to help gain their trust.

"When you're trying to build a rapport and literally ask them to risk [their lives] for you, you've got a lot to do to build their trust," he told the Associated Press news agency.

The Taliban have said one of their members carried out the attack.

Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told the BBC the Khost bomber was wearing an army uniform when he managed to breach security at the base, detonating his explosives belt in the gym.

However, this claim was denied by the Afghan defence ministry.

"This is the Taliban talking and nothing the Taliban says should be believed," said ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi.

Neither the names of the CIA officials killed nor the details of their work have been released because of the sensitivity of US operations, the agency said.

But the head of the base - who was reported to be a mother of three - was said to be among the dead.

As chief, she would have led intelligence-gathering operations in Khost, a hotbed of Taliban activity due to its proximity to Pakistan's lawless tribal region.

'Great sacrifice'

CIA Director Leon Panetta said six other agents had been injured in the attack.

He said the dead and injured had been "far from home and close to the enemy".

"We owe them our deepest gratitude, and we pledge to them and their families that we will never cease fighting for the cause to which they dedicated their lives - a safer America," he said.

The flags at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, are being flown at half-mast in honour of the dead.

Forward Operating Base Chapman, a former Soviet military base, is used not only by the CIA but also by provincial reconstruction teams, which include both soldiers and civilians.

The airfield is reportedly used for US drone attacks on suspected militants in neighbouring Pakistan.

A total of 90 CIA employees have been honoured for their deaths in the agency's service since its inception in 1947, according to the Washington Post newspaper.

Mudslide in Brazil resort kills at least 15 people

At least 15 people have been killed and 10 injured by a mudslide in a Brazilian island resort, say officials.

The mud destroyed three houses and an upmarket lodge on Ilha Grande, Angra dos Reis, near Rio de Janeiro.

More than 40 people have now died in a series of landslides in and around Rio in the past two days.

Fire department commander Pedro Machado told local media the mud probably hit as tourists returned to their rooms after New Year's Eve celebrations.

Mr Machado said about 100 people, including police and navy boats, were searching for survivors.

The resort can only be reached by boat.

Witnesses told reporters the houses and the Sankay lodge had been hit by a piece of the hillside measuring some 300m across.

Wooden sections of the lodge could be seen floating close to the shore and on the beach, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The lodge, which has capacity for 50 people, was reported to be full at the time, AP said.

Other landslides in Angra dos Reis killed seven people early on Friday.

On Thursday at least 19 people died as heavy rains triggered mudslides in Rio de Janeiro state.

Officials said most of those deaths occurred as shanties collapsed under mud or rain in the greater Rio city area.

Pakistan volleyball crowd 'hit by suicide bomber'

At least 60 people have been killed after a suspected suicide bomb attack at a volleyball pitch in the troubled north-west of Pakistan, officials say.

Officials said the bomber drove a vehicle towards the field as people gathered to watch a match. Some sources suggest the death toll has reached 75.

The attack happened near Lakki Marwat, close to North and South Waziristan.

The Pakistani army has been conducting a campaign against the Taliban in the tribal areas since October.

Dozens of people were reported to be injured in Friday's attack. Several buildings collapsed, trapping people under rubble.

'Militant hub'

"The villagers were watching the match between the two village teams when the bomber rashly drove his double-cabin pick-up vehicle into them and blew it up," district police chief Mohammad Ayub Khan told AFP news agency.

Mr Khan told reporters the attack may have been in retaliation for attempts by locals to expel militants.

"The locality has been a hub of militants," he said.

"Locals set up a militia and expelled the militants from this area. This attack seems to be a reaction to their expulsion."

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool reports from Islamabad that among those killed are believed to be members of a local peace committee who have been campaigning for an end to the violence.

Mushtaq Marwat, a member of the group, told Pakistan's Geo TV that the attack occurred as the committee was meeting in a nearby mosque.

"Suddenly there was a huge blast. We went out and saw bodies and injured people everywhere," he said.

'Soft target'

Other witnesses recalled seeing a bright flash before hearing an ear-piercing explosion.

Some initial reports about the attack said the vehicle that exploded was stationary, or that a bomber had walked towards the volleyball pitch.

North and South Waziristan form a lethal militant belt from where insurgents have launched attacks across north-west Pakistan as well as into parts of eastern Afghanistan.

Our correspondent says it had been feared that while the army was congratulating itself on its campaign, militants had simply escaped to neighbouring areas such as the one where Friday's attack happened.

The number of people killed in militant attacks in Pakistan is fast approaching 600 in just three months, with no apparent end to the violence in sight, he adds.

Militants have attacked both "hard" targets, including army or intelligence offices, and "soft" ones such as markets or the crowd that was hit in Friday's bombing.

The attack came as a general strike was held in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial capital, in protest against a bombing there on Monday and riots that followed.

The bombing, which killed at least 43 people, targeted a Shia Muslim march and was claimed by the Taliban.

Taliban claim bombing in Karachi

Pakistan's Taliban have said they carried out the suicide bombing which killed 43 people in the commercial capital, Karachi, on Monday.

A spokesman threatened to carry out more such attacks in the coming days.

Meanwhile, firefighters are still trying to douse flames following rioting after the attack on a Shia Muslim march.

Dozens of people were injured in the bomb, which struck as Shias marked the climax of the holy month of Muharram.

After the explosion, marchers turned their anger on ambulance workers, security forces and journalists.

'Our man'

"We carried out the suicide bombing in Karachi," the AFP news agency quoted Asmatullah Shaheen, one of the commanders of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as saying.

"He [the bomber] was our man. His name was Hasnain Muawia and we did it to protect the honour of the companions of the holy prophet," said Mr Shaheen whose name is on a government list of 20 most-wanted militants.

"We will carry out more such attacks and also target government installations," he said.

Meanwhile, fire tenders in Karachi were still struggling to control the fires that erupted following Monday's attack, officials said.

Arsonists set on fire nearly 2,000 shops and warehouses between Light House and Boulton Market in central Karachi.

The area houses Pakistan's largest wholesale markets that supply goods all over the country.

Traders said hundreds of shops were gutted in fire and that they had lost merchandise worth more than $350m. It is estimated that thousands of people have been rendered jobless.

City fire chief Ehtisham Qadri told the BBC Urdu service that the fire was still not doused and that a dozen fire engines were working the narrow lanes of markets in the old city area.

"There are no leaping flames on the skyline, but it's far from over. It's not safe yet," Mr Qadri said.

"I cannot give a time frame to bring it under control, because the area is very congested and heavily built, with narrow lanes and small shops which retard our progress."

Pakistan has seen an upsurge in violence in recent months.

Hundreds of civilians have died in bomb attacks as Pakistan's army concludes an offensive against Taliban militants in South Waziristan and surrounding areas.

Nigeria sect violence victims 'mostly children'

The Red Cross in Nigeria says many of those who were killed in clashes on Monday between troops and members of an Islamist sect in Bauchi were children.

Adamu Abubakar, its representative in the northern state, told the BBC 39 people had died - some 60% of them students aged between nine and 15.

Local officials said if any children had died, it would have been because they were hit by vehicles or trampled.

Twenty members of the Kala Kato sect had been arrested, Mr Abubakar said.

The fighting started when locals called in the authorities after members of the sect broke a ban on open-air preaching, which was introduced after an uprising earlier this year by the Boko Haram sect.

Hundreds died in the subsequent fighting across northern Nigeria.

'Result of preaching'

Mr Abubakar told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme the death toll from Monday's violence was 39. Sixteen people were also admitted to hospital, among them a seven-year-old who died on Tuesday morning, he added.

He said some of the victims had been shot, but most had been attacked with machetes and knives.

The Red Cross representative said the crisis "was the result of preaching" at an open-air gathering, after which members of the Kala Kato sect threatened to kill locals who would not join them or leave the area.

An army officer who was sent from a nearby base to speak to the sect's leaders was killed with a machete, he added.

Mr Abubakar said most of the dead were children from outside Bauchi who had been sent to study Arabic and the Koran with local clerics.

But a spokesman for the government of Bauchi, Alhaji Sanusi Mohammed, told the BBC that 32 people had died in the violence, and that most of the people killed were adult members of the sect who had attacked the security forces.

"Most likely, those children that might have been killed were probably crushed when running away from the scene, or they were victims of head-on collisions with cars," he said.

"But I definitely don't think it was security officers that went to quell the rioting who shot them down."

It was impossible that the troops had used machetes, he added.

Mr Mohammed said the clashes had been a result of a "misunderstanding within the religious sect" about its leadership, and that it had quickly escalated.

Correspondents say Kala Kato is a non-conformist sect made up of poor tradesmen, labourers and other working people.

Asia marks fifth anniversary of Indian Ocean tsunami

Countries across the Indian Ocean are marking the fifth anniversary of the catastrophic tsunami that killed almost 250,000 people.

In Indonesia's Aceh province, where 170,000 died, thousands held prayers in public mosques and private homes.

On Thai beaches, Buddhist monks chanted prayers as mourners held pictures of loved ones lost five years ago.

Hundreds of tourists also returned to Phuket island to mark one of the worst natural disasters of modern times.

A moment of silence was observed on Phuket's popular Patong Beach marking the time the tsunami struck.

German survivor Ruschitschka Adolf, 73, and his wife Katherina waded into the turquoise seawater to lay white roses as a tribute to the dead.

"We [still] come and stay here because we are alive," Mr Adolf told Reuters news agency.

Other ceremonies were expected in the 14 countries hit by the massive wave.

Communities rebuilt

Thousands of survivors in Indonesia's Aceh province, the hardest-hit area, gathered at mosques and beside the mass graves where tens of thousands were buried.

"None of my family members survived in the tsunami," Siti Aminah, 72, told AFP news agency at a grave site near Banda Aceh, Aceh's capital.

"My children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, they all have gone and left me alone here."

Banda Aceh's main business district, which was completely destroyed by the tsunami, is again bustling with activity, says the BBC's Karishma Vaswani there.

Our correspondent says many have rebuilt their lives thanks to billions of dollars in international aid.

But five years on, the grief and trauma of the disaster are still very real for the people of Aceh, she adds.

After Indonesia, Sri Lanka was the country worst hit by the tsunami.

More than 40,000 people died there and half a million were displaced.

Visitors can still see blackened, destroyed buildings in the country's south and west, the BBC's Charles Haviland reports from Colombo.

There are also large vistas with a view of the ocean from the coast road, which were once blocked by buildings, our correspondent says.

But there has been good recovery too - aid grants have brought some farmers to a higher technical level than before.

And one model village built by a philanthropist - which started out as 1,000 homes for victims - has now developed to take in a health centre, diving classes and more, our correspondent adds.

Unprecedented scale

The tsunami was sparked by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra - the mightiest earthquake in 40 years.

In Aceh province, the quake toppled homes and buildings and sent panicked residents rushing into the streets.

About 20 minutes later, a wall of water up to six stories high surged in from the sea, burying thousands in thick black mud and leaving others to scramble up buildings or cling onto trees.

It was a disaster on an unprecedented scale, the BBC's Rachel Harvey reports from Bangkok.

Apart from the deaths, hundreds of thousands people lost their homes and livelihoods.

No single agency or government could have been prepared for the challenges the tsunami presented, our South-East Asia correspondent says.

Following the disaster, the UN has been designated to coordinate relief work in massive disaster zones.

The so-called Cluster System for emergency response was used to good effect after the Padang earthquake in Indonesia in September, our correspondent says.