Adviser sacked over Mumbai comments
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Pakistani National Security Adviser Mahmud Ali Durrani was fired Wednesday after indicating the lone surviving Mumbai terrorist may have been a Pakistani.
A statement issued by the country's prime minister said Durrani was sacked "for his irresponsible behavior (of) not taking prime minister and other stakeholders into confidence and lack of coordination on matters of national security," the Press Trust of India reported.
Ironically, other Pakistani officials earlier Wednesday anonymously confirmed that Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only surviving terrorist from November's Mumbai attacks, is a Pakistani, the Los Angeles Times reported. Later, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said, "We are confirming Kasab is Pakistani, but investigations are ongoing."
Pakistan has been under U.S. pressure to move against militants based in the country suspected of having planned and helped to carry out the attacks on India's financial and entertainment hub and left roughly 170 people dead.
Durrani told CNN Wednesday evidence Pakistan received from India showed the attackers had ties to his country.
"So one cannot deny there was zero link with Pakistan," Durrani said. "How much, who all was involved, that we have to investigate."
Included in the information packet delivered to Pakistan were statements by Kasab, phone records and information on seized weapons.
India said Islamic militants trained in Pakistan were behind the siege on India's financial and entertainment hub, reporting that Kasab told investigators he was trained by Lashkar-e-Toiba, an Islamic militant group.
Snow storm grips Northern Italy
ROME, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Travel in Northern Italy has been disrupted by a major storm that has closed airports and highways, officials said.
ANSA, the Italian news agency, reported that snow has been falling in the region for three days and more snow is expected into Thursday.
So far, two deaths have blamed on the storms. In Milan, a 46-year-old man was crushed when a roof collapsed under the weight of the heavy snow; and in a town outside Bergamo, a 30-year-old man walking on a sidewalk was struck by a car that had gone out of control on an icy road.
Because of the weather, schools also remained closed in many parts of Northern Italy, ANSA reported.
Since the beginning of November Italy has seen a total of 190 hours of snowfall, compared to 30 hours for the same period in 2007 and none in 2006, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
Girl attacked in France over Gaza conflict
PARIS, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Officials say they are concerned that the conflict in Gaza could spark violence between Jews and Muslims in France.
The Times of London reported Wednesday that concerns mounted after three teenagers were arrested for an alleged anti-Semitic attack on a 15-year-old girl north of Paris.
The newspaper reported that the victim was insulted, knocked to the ground, kicked and punched by a gang of 10 youths as she left school. The victim said her attackers told her they were seeking to avenge Palestinians in Gaza.
Her alleged attackers -- who were between 13- and 15-years-old and all from her own school -- were arrested on suspicion of "aggravated violence and anti-Semitic insults," a police source said.
The National Bureau of Vigilance against Anti-Semitism said it had received about 100 reports of anti-Semitic insults and threats since the start of the conflict in Gaza.
Army apologizes for John Doe letters
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army says it has formally apologized for sending thousands of "Dear John Doe" letters to relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The 7,000 letters, which went out in December, were meant to provide the families information about services or gifts for which they might be eligible. However, each letter started out with the salutation "Dear John Doe," the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The Army blamed the impersonal touch on a software problem. The letters were printed by a private contractor.
Army spokesman J. Paul Boyce said several families called about the error, leading to an investigation and the subsequent apology.
"There are no words to adequately apologize for this mistake or for the hurt it may have caused," Brig. Gen. Reuben D. Jones, the Army's adjutant general, said in a statement.
Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army's chief of staff, is mailing the families another letter explaining the error.
Some recipients found the original letter's salutation odd but not upsetting.
Bonnie Brown of Troy, Ala., whose son John E. Brown was killed in Iraq on April 14, 2003, said it "didn't really bother" her.
Joe Davis of the Veterans of Foreign Wars called it an "unfortunate mistake," though he lauded the Army's communication efforts.
"It is embarrassing," he said. "But it's very good that they are trying to reach out to families to say the Army is there to support you."
