Oman Observer

BAGHDAD — A former Iraqi airline pilot who has been in custody for seven months was accused yesterday by Iraqi authorities of orchestrating the 2003 bombing of the UN Baghdad headquarters in which 22 people were killed. Then-UN envoy to Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian, was among those who died when a truck bomb exploded at the Canal Hotel,...

Yemen confirms top Qaeda chiefs’ deaths, arrests three militants

SANAA — Yemen confirmed yesterday the deaths of six senior Al Qaeda figures in an air strike a day earlier, while continuing its crackdown on the group by arresting three suspected militants. In a statement on its website, the interior ministry said Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) military boss Qassem al Rimi died when a missile struck his vehicle in the eastern part...

WASHINGTON — With many nations vying to get urgent relief into Haiti after the devastating earthquake, US officials acknowledged yesterday it was ‘critical’ to better co-ordinate the influx of aid. Although the aid operation was picking up steam, it was still not reaching many of the survivors desperately scrambling for badly-needed food and water.

MOSCOW — The United States and Russia have made “significant” progress towards a new nuclear disarmament treaty, President Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying yesterday. “We have taken a fairly serious step forward, and to a significant degree we have brought our positions closer,” Medvedev said, quoted by the Itar-Tass and RIA-Novosti state news agencies.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown tried to reach out to middle class voters yesterday, bringing the looming election battle back to the theme of class. Brown said his governing, centre-left Labour Party would create “more middle class jobs than ever before” if it overturns the opinion polls and wins the general election due by June.

US Army suicides hit grim record for 2009

WASHINGTON — Suicides in the US Army rose to a new record in 2009, with 160 soldiers taking their lives, the military said on Friday. Army leaders had warned that the suicide rate was on track to surpass last year's toll of 140, but said causes of the spike are unclear. "There's no question that 2009 was a painful year for the army when it came to suicides," said Colonel Christopher...