DIVUNDU: No arrest has yet been made in the murder of a Chinese national who was shot here exactly a month ago. This is despite the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) in the Kavango Region having offered a reward of N.dollars 20 000 for information that could lead to the arrest of a suspect/s in the murder.

The Chinese man, who worked on the construction of the multi-million-dollar Divundu Vision School some 200 kilometres east of Rundu, was shot dead at the construction site on 23 June at around 18h00. NamPol’s Crime Investigations’ Coordinator for the Kavango Region, Deputy Commissioner Willie Bampton told Nampa today that no suspects have been arrested yet.

The police earlier reported that the deceased and a fellow Chinese worker were having dinner in a room at the construction site when they heard gunshots. The two men allegedly went to the door to ascertain where the shots were coming from when the deceased was allegedly struck by a bullet in the abdomen.

2 (ANTANANARIVO) – Madagascar’s strongman Andry Rajoelina left today for face-to-face talks with his ousted rival Marc Ravalomanana, despite a weekend mutiny at a key military base near the main airport.

Three people were killed yesterday in the mutiny that was put down by paramilitary police and soldiers near the airport in the capital Antananarivo.

The mutiny forced the cancellation of flights ysterday, but Rajoelina appeared there early today to head to Seychelles for critical talks with Ravalomanana, the elected leader he ousted in 2009.

The 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), which is mediating in the crisis, is expected to bring the two men face-to-face on Wednesday. The two last year signed a roadmap toward elections, but the deal has yet to be fully implemented.

SADC has imposed a July 31 deadline for the two rivals to settle their differences, so that a timetable for elections could be unveiled next week. 3 (JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia) – Five al Qaeda-linked women detainees have been freed by Saudi authorities but the move was not linked to demands by the al Qaeda captors of a Saudi diplomat in Yemen, the government said today.

Abdullah al-Khalidi, the Saudi deputy consul in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, was kidnapped outside his residence on March 28. His captors demanded a ransom and the release of detainees held in Saudi prisons but the government said in April that it could not negotiate with al Qaeda.

Khalidi has appeared in two videos since then, posted on the internet, begging King Abdullah to meet his captors’ demand for the release of women detainees. The women, who were held by Saudi security services, are relatives of al Qaeda fighters, Khalidi said.

4 (MADRID) – Two big forest fires raging in the border area between France and northern Catalonia in Spain since yesterday have killed a fourth person, local authorities said today, as strong winds hindered efforts to control the blaze.

All four victims are French, the government of Catalonia and the fire service said. The fourth to die was a 64-year-old man who died today of burns. A father and his 15-year-old daughter died yesterday after trying to escape the flames down a cliffside in Portbou, a coastal town where one of the fires broke out.

The area includes the Costa Brava, one of the most popular beach destinations in Spain, and major motorways for holidaymakers driving to and from southern France.

5 (PESHAWAR, Pakistan) – A Pakistani court today ordered police to protect an Afghan couple who eloped and fear being murdered by the bride’s furious relatives. Hewad, 22, and Mariyam Marjman fled Kabul last month to marry for love in the leafy town of Abbottabad in northwest Pakistan, where US troops found and killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

Marjman, also 22, told her parents had wanted her to wed the ageing husband of her sister, who had recently died, instead.

She says that if taken back to Afghanistan she would probably be murdered for marrying a man of her own choice.

The young couple escaped their conservative families’ clutches with the help of a Pakistani friend — taking the dead sister’s two-year-old daughter with them — but say relatives of the bride have since travelled to Pakistan in a bid to force them back.

(edited)HERE IS TODAY’S BULLETIN FOR 12H00
MONDAY, 23 JULY 2012
NAMIBIA PRESS AGENCY

1 (DIVUNDU) – No arrest has yet been made in the murder of a Chinese national who was shot here exactly a month ago. This is despite the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) in the Kavango Region having offered a reward of N.dollars 20 000 for information that could lead to the arrest of a suspect/s in the murder.

The Chinese man, who worked on the construction of the multi-million-dollar Divundu Vision School some 200 kilometres east of Rundu, was shot dead at the construction site on 23 June at around 18h00.

NamPol’s Crime Investigations’ Coordinator for the Kavango Region, Deputy Commissioner Willie Bampton told Nampa today that no suspects have been arrested yet. The police earlier reported that the deceased and a fellow Chinese worker were having dinner in a room at the construction site when they heard gunshots.

The two men allegedly went to the door to ascertain where the shots were coming from when the deceased was allegedly struck by a bullet in the abdomen.

2 (ANTANANARIVO) – Madagascar’s strongman Andry Rajoelina left today for face-to-face talks with his ousted rival Marc Ravalomanana, despite a weekend mutiny at a key military base near the main airport. Three people were killed yesterday in the mutiny that was put down by paramilitary police and soldiers near the airport in the capital Antananarivo.

The mutiny forced the cancellation of flights ysterday, but Rajoelina appeared there early today to head to Seychelles for critical talks with Ravalomanana, the elected leader he ousted in 2009. The 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), which is mediating in the crisis, is expected to bring the two men face-to-face on Wednesday.

The two last year signed a roadmap toward elections, but the deal has yet to be fully implemented. SADC has imposed a July 31 deadline for the two rivals to settle their differences, so that a timetable for elections could be unveiled next week.

3 (JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia) – Five al Qaeda-linked women detainees have been freed by Saudi authorities but the move was not linked to demands by the al Qaeda captors of a Saudi diplomat in Yemen, the government said today.

Abdullah al-Khalidi, the Saudi deputy consul in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, was kidnapped outside his residence on March 28. His captors demanded a ransom and the release of detainees held in Saudi prisons but the government said in April that it could not negotiate with al Qaeda.

Khalidi has appeared in two videos since then, posted on the internet, begging King Abdullah to meet his captors’ demand for the release of women detainees. The women, who were held by Saudi security services, are relatives of al Qaeda fighters, Khalidi said.

4 (MADRID) – Two big forest fires raging in the border area between France and northern Catalonia in Spain since yesterday have killed a fourth person, local authorities said today, as strong winds hindered efforts to control the blaze. All four victims are French, the government of Catalonia and the fire service said.

The fourth to die was a 64-year-old man who died today of burns. A father and his 15-year-old daughter died yesterday after trying to escape the flames down a cliffside in Portbou, a coastal town where one of the fires broke out. The area includes the Costa Brava, one of the most popular beach destinations in Spain, and major motorways for holidaymakers driving to and from southern France.

5 (PESHAWAR, Pakistan) – A Pakistani court today ordered police to protect an Afghan couple who eloped and fear being murdered by the bride’s furious relatives. Hewad, 22, and Mariyam Marjman fled Kabul last month to marry for love in the leafy town of Abbottabad in northwest Pakistan, where US troops found and killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

Marjman, also 22, told her parents had wanted her to wed the ageing husband of her sister, who had recently died, instead. She says that if taken back to Afghanistan she would probably be murdered for marrying a man of her own choice.

The young couple escaped their conservative families’ clutches with the help of a Pakistani friend — taking the dead sister’s two-year-old daughter with them — but say relatives of the bride have since travelled to Pakistan in a bid to force them back.