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US forces had Osama Bin Laden “within their grasp” in Afghanistan in late 2001, a
US Senate report says.
It says calls for US reinforcements were rejected, allowing the al-Qaeda leader to
“walk unmolested” into Pakistan’s unregulated tribal areas.
The report was prepared by the Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staff.
It says the failure to kill or capture Bin Laden had far reaching consequences and
laid the foundation for the protracted Afghan insurgency.
The report comes as President Barack Obama prepares to announce a long-awaited
decision on sending troop reinforcements to Afghanistan.
It is highly critical of officials in former President George W Bush’s
administration and military commanders at the time.
It says that while the “vast array of American military power… was kept on the
sidelines”, US commanders “chose to rely on air strikes and untrained Afghan
militias” to pursue Bin Laden in the mountainous complex of caves and tunnels
known as Tora Bora.
“On or around 16 December [2001], two days after writing his will, Bin Laden and
an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into
Pakistan’s unregulated tribal area,” the report says.
Bin Laden is still thought to be hiding in the area.
The report says the “failure to finish the job” laid the foundation for “today’s
protracted Afghan insurgency and inflaming the internal strife now endangering
Pakistan”.
It acknowledges that removing Bin Laden “would not have eliminated the worldwide
extremist threat”.
But it adds that “the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan
allowed Bin Laden to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who continues to attract a
steady flow of money and inspire fanatics worldwide”.
The report rebuffs claims by Bush administration officials at the time that
intelligence about Bin Laden’s location was inconclusive.
“The review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews
with central participants underlying this report removes any lingering doubts and
makes it clear that Osama Bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora,” it says.

A Swedish man who was arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife has been
cleared, after police decided she was probably killed by an elk.
Ingemar Westlund, aged 68, found the dead body of his wife Agneta, 63, by a lake
close to the village of Loftahammer in September 2008.
He was immediately arrested and held in police custody for 10 days.
Now the case has been dropped after forensic analysis found elk hair and saliva on
his wife’s clothes.
Mr Westlund told Expressen newspaper: “My family and I have been dragged through a
nightmare.”
His wife had last been seen taking the family dog out for a walk in the forest.
When she failed to return her husband went out to look for her.
Although the murder investigation was dropped five months ago, details have only
just emerged and the police plan to hold a news conference next week to explain
what happened.
The European elk, or moose, is usually considered to be shy and will normally run
away from humans. But Swedish Radio International says the animals can become
aggressive after eating fermented fallen apples in gardens.

A bomb blast caused the Russian train crash in which at least 26 people were
killed, intelligence officials say.
The Nevsky Express derailed with nearly 700 on board as it ran through remote
countryside between the capital Moscow and the second city, St Petersburg.
Investigators found “elements of an explosive device” at the scene of Friday’s
attack, a statement said.
Officials said a second, less powerful device went off on Saturday near the site
of the first, but no-one was hurt.
There was no immediate confirmed claim of responsibility for the blast on Friday
evening, which hit a train popular with government officials and business
executives at peak travel time.
“Criminology experts say, on the basis of preliminary information, that an
improvised explosive device, equivalent to 7kg (15 lb) of TNT, had gone off,” said
Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia’s domestic intelligence service.
At least three of the 14 carriages left the tracks as the train reportedly
approached speeds up 200 km/h (130mph).
Russia’s prosecutor-general has opened a criminal case on terrorism charges,
Russian news agencies say.
If terrorism is confirmed as the cause, observers say the derailment would
represent the deadliest attack outside the volatile North Caucasus region for five
years.
Pavel Felgenhauer, defence correspondent for Russia’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper,
told the BBC News website the key suspects for investigators would be “either
militants from Russia’s North Caucasus region or nationalist extremists, pro-Nazi
groups”.
“I think we can expect the Russian authorities to come up with some names soon,
because this attack is politically very embarrassing.

Swiss voters are going to the polls to decide on a proposal to ban the building of
minarets in their country.
The proposal is backed by the Swiss People’s Party, the largest party in
parliament, and by Christian groups.
They say minarets would be the first sign of the Islamisation of Switzerland.
The Swiss government is urging voters to reject a ban. There are 400,000 Muslims
in Switzerland, and just four minarets across the country.
Islam is the most widespread religion after Christianity, but it remains
relatively hidden.
There are unofficial Muslim prayer rooms, and planning for new minarets is almost
always refused.
The proposal is for a one-line addition to the Swiss constitution, stating that
the construction of minarets is forbidden.
Supporters of a ban claim allowing minarets would represent the growth of an
ideology and a legal system – Sharia law – which are incompatible with Swiss
democracy.
Opinion polls ahead of the vote are close, with signs that a small majority would
reject the ban.
That would be a relief to the Swiss government which fears banning minarets would
cause unrest among the Muslim community, and damage Switzerland’s relations with
Islamic countries.
Amnesty International has warned that the ban would violate Switzerland’s
obligations to freedom of religious expression.
Swiss Muslim Elham Manea points to the recent construction of Sikh temples and
Serbian Orthodox churches and says a ban just on minarets is discriminatory.
“If you are telling me that we are going to ban all religious symbols from all
religious buildings, I would not have a problem with that.
“But if you are just telling me that we are going to target only the Muslims, not
the Christians, not the Jews, not the Sikhs, only the Muslims, then I have a
problem with it because it is discrimination.”

Nine nations in the Amazon region have called on rich countries to provide poorer
nations with the funds to preserve forests.
The nations, meeting in Manaus, Brazil, also discussed supporting a 40% reduction
in global emissions by 2020.
The meeting comes shortly before the key global summit on climate change in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Amazon nations agreed on broad principles rather than concrete steps,
correspondents said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva chaired the meeting of delegates
from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Surinam, with French
President Nicolas Sarkozy representing French Guiana.
Presidents Sarkozy and Lula said richer nations must increase their aid to help
the poorer countries fight global warming.
“The poor need to be supported without any country giving up its sovereignty,”
President Lula said.
The BBC’s Paulo Cabral reports from Manaus that for the past few days diplomats
have been negotiating a common position to be presented by the Amazon countries
and France at the conference in Copenhagen.
The common statement agreed in Brazil establishes broad principles rather than
fresh or concrete proposals, he adds.
He says most of the presidents invited did not come to Manaus, though diplomats
say that the ministers and ambassadors sent in their place were in a position to
close a deal.
Brazil proposed fighting deforestation in the Amazon basin with financial backing
from wealthy nations.
“Let no gringo [foreigner] ask us to let an Amazonian starve to death under a
tree,” Mr Lula said in a speech ahead of the meeting.
“We want to preserve [the forests], but [other countries] have to pay for that
preservation.”
At the summit, the Brazilian government presented its efforts to reduce
destruction in the Amazon as a key part of its strategy to combat climate change.
Earlier this month, Brazil’s government said the rate of deforestation in the
Amazon had dropped by 45% – and was the lowest on record since monitoring began 21
years ago.

The wedding records of more than 10,000 couples who eloped to Scotland to get
married in the 18th and 19th century are set to be published online.
The Gretna Green Marriage Registers cover the period from 1795 to 1895.
Ancestry.co.uk content director Dan Jones said the records revealed the “colourful
history” of such weddings.
The town became a popular venue after the Marriage Act of 1754 in England,
outlawing marriages without parental consent if either party was under 21.
A tradition developed of couples travelling over the border to Scotland, which had
more lenient laws.
Each record details the full names of both husband and wife, their respective
locations of residence, and the date of their wedding.
The collection contains the marriage records of Gretna Green’s most prolific
minister, David Lang.
Among the most notable weddings he conducted was one known as the Shrigley
Abduction.
It was a national scandal of 1826, when Edward Wakefield duped 15-year-old heiress
Ellen Turner into marriage at Gretna Green.
He claimed her father, a mill owner and sheriff of Cheshire, was a fugitive and if
she would agree to marry Wakefield, her father would be saved.
She consented and they were married on the 8 March 1826 by blacksmith David Lang.
Wakefield was later tried and convicted of abduction.
Gretna Green remains a popular wedding venue to this day.
However, the number of “runaway” marriages fell after an act of parliament was
passed in 1856.
It required one of the parties getting married to live in Scotland for a minimum
of three weeks prior to the wedding for it to be recognised south of the border.

An instructor has told an inquiry that risk assessment documents used for pool
jumps where a teenager was fatally injured were inadequate.
Richard Farrell said they did not differentiate between two pools in the area and
failed to mention the rocks which the girl struck.
Laura McDairmant, 15, of Carlisle, died after falling onto rocks at Black Loch in
Dumfries and Galloway in July 2006.
Mr Farrell was in charge of the jump which resulted in her death.
He said the youngsters were assessed on a smaller jump before going onto the
bigger pool.
He said Ms McDairmant must have qualified for the second jump.
However, he said that given what had happened, he did not think there were
adequate controls.
He said Ms McDairmant was very, very confident at the smaller pool and seemed
confident when she came to the second one.
At the last minute, he said it appeared she did not have the confidence she had
initially displayed.
The inquiry at Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court continues.

Just one flood warning remains in force in Cumbria, a week after unprecedented
rainfall prompted some of the country’s worst ever flooding.
The Environment Agency said the warning remained in force at Keswick, with two
further flood alerts at Seathwaite and Crosby-on-Eden.
Cumbria County Council said 21 road bridges remained closed. Three of them
collapsed during the downpour.
A police officer, Pc Bill Barker, died when a bridge in Workington collapsed.
His funeral will be held on Friday
A second bridge in Workington – Calva bridge – remains extremely unstable.
The public have been warned to stay from it and surrounding river banks.
A Cumbria Council spokesman said: “If it does collapse, then telephone
communications would be lost to 3,000 homes north of the river.”
He added: “Highway engineers are continuing to check bridges across the county.
“A major obstacle to doing this is the continued high level of water and strong
river flows which means divers cannot access the water to assess damage to
foundations and underwater parts of the bridge structures.”
Meanwhile efforts are continuing to re-establish transport links to communities
cut off because of by bridge collapses and closures.
Network Rail says it hopes a temporary station, on the north side of the River
Derwent at Workington, will be operational early next week.
Local authority-funded advisers in Ulverston, Keswick and Cockermouth continue to
offer help to thousands of people facing a lengthy clean up of homes and
businesses.

Two Beefeaters at the Tower of London have been dismissed for harassing Moira
Cameron, the first female Beefeater.
Earlier this month Miss Cameron, from Argyll, complained that she had been
subjected to a bullying campaign by some male colleagues.
The case against a third Yeoman Warder was not proven.
Miss Cameron became a Beefeater in 2007. Officially known as yeoman warders,
Beefeaters have guarded the Tower in central London since 1485.
A Tower of London spokesman said: “When the allegations arose, the Tower of London
immediately initiated a thorough investigation, in line with harassment policy
procedures.
“In light of the evidence that emerged, the investigation concluded that the
allegations had foundation and that disciplinary action was appropriate.”
Earlier this month a 56-year-old man received a police caution for defacing Miss
Cameron’s entry on online encyclopaedia Wikipedia.
The two sacked Beefeaters have the right to lodge an appeal within a week, and the
third will return to work shortly.
The Tower of London spokesman added: “We believe everyone is entitled to work in
an environment free from any form of harassment.
“This has been a difficult time for the community at the Tower of London, and the
Yeoman Body especially.”
Miss Cameron is the only woman among the 35 yeoman warders at the Tower of London.
The 44-year-old became the first female yeoman warder in the institution’s history
after completing the required 22 years of service in the Army.
The yeoman warders were appointed by Henry VII to guard the prisoners and attend
the gates of the Tower.
Although their role is now mostly ceremonial, their duties include guarding the
Tower and the Crown Jewels.
All the Beefeaters, who got their name because of their meat rations, live in
flats in the Tower.
When Miss Cameron was made a Beefeater in July 2007, she admitted that her
appointment was not welcomed by everyone.
She said at the time: “I’ve had some comments. I had one chap at the gate one day
who said he was completely and utterly against me doing the job.
“I said to him: ‘I would like to thank you for dismissing my 22 years’ service in
Her Majesty’s Armed Forces’.”
She did not comment about Wednesday’s decision.

About 150 people have been forced to leave their homes after a fire broke out in
south London.
More than 125 firefighters are tackling the fire, which engulfed the whole of a
construction site in Carisbrooke Gardens in Peckham at about 0430 GMT.
It has since spread to two blocks of maisonettes and a pub.
One person has been taken to hospital suffering from the effects of breathing in
smoke. Their condition is understood not to be life-threatening.
A local resident, identified only as Elizabeth, was one of those who had to leave
her home.
She told BBC London 94.9FM: “We just woke up into this total blaze from the
construction site across the road and we were told to leave.
“The whole place was in pandemonium.
“There was flying debris all over the place and there were cars ablaze and we were
told to get out of the area.”
Another eyewitness in the area, Lucy Pope, said the fire was “very serious” with
flames shooting at one point 20ft (6m) into the air from the flats.
The fire has damaged property and buildings in Sumner Road and Rosemary Road.
A London Fire Brigade spokesman said the fire appeared to have “spread very
rapidly” and gas cylinders may be involved.
Ambulances are on standby, but there are no reports of other casualties.
Roads in the area have been closed.
All the evacuated residents are being housed in temporary accommodation provided
by Southwark Council.
The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.
It comes nearly five months after six people died when a fire destroyed the
Lakanal House block of flats in nearby Camberwell.