[Archive 2009-08-08] Wikinews Shorts: August 8, 2009

Historical archive — originally published 2009-08-08. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Pakistani and United States intelligence services believe that the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan may be dead. The home of Baitullah Mehsud's father-in-law was attacked on Wednesday with missiles fired by CIA operated drones. Taliban sources have confirmed the death of Mehsud's second wife but initially denied that Mehsud himself has been killed.

Mehsud is the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, his group is reckoned to have up to 20,000 fighters and to be responsible for 80% of the militant violence in Pakistan. The TTP has been blamed for the attack which killed Benazir Bhutto, though the group denies this.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in South Africa for the second leg of an eleven day, seven nation tour of Africa. Whilst in South Africa she will meet with current President Jacob Zuma and former President Nelson Mandela. Talks will center around business ties and HIV, although the situation in Zimbabwe will likely also be discussed. Hillary Clinton will hope to rekindle the close co-operation and rapport between the United States and South Africa established by former presidents Bill Clinton, her husband, and Mandela.

Hillary Clinton's first stop was Kenya where she met with President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of Somalia's unity government, pledging both military aid and support. Somalia will receive money, weapons and ammunition in its fight against al-Shabaab, which controls much of the country. Eritrea was also warned that the US would take "action" if it continued to back the Islamic group. Eritrea denies supporting al-Shabaab and described Clinton's comments as "very disappointing" and said that the United States had "failed to learn mistakes of the previous US administration."

The anniversary of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia has been marked with saber-rattling and accusations. The Russians have accused the Georgians of re-arming for a new conflict and the Georgians have accused the Russians of further territorial ambitions, both sides have accused the other of firing rockets into the territory of the other. However, European Union observers report of no evidence of such attacks.

Both South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been recognised as independent states by Russia and have become increasingly dependent on her.

Police in the United Kingdom have been ordered by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), the police watchdog in the UK, to review its policing of demonstrations. This follows an investigation by the IPCC that an environmental protestor might have miscarried after being struck by the police.

The unnamed protester was "manhandled" by the police at the climate camp protest held during the G-20 summit earlier this year might and began to suffer from vaginal bleeding so heavy that she feared for her life. Despite this, for five hours she was not allowed out of the police cordon, and said that she felt "completely dehumanised" by her treatment by the police and their reaction to her injuries.

The woman's physician, examining her the next day, initially feared that she was a victim of domestic abuse and urged her to report her injuries. The IPCC have only been able to publicly comment on this case because the woman did not wish to pursue a prosecution. A senior police officer of the Metropolitan Police Service has offered to meet the woman to apologise.

The son of missing Japanese actress Noriko Sakai has been found safe in the care of friends of the actress in Tokyo. Sakai, age 38, and her son have been missing since August 4, after the arrest of her surfer husband Yuichi Takaso on drug charges. Illegal stimulants were subsequently found at their home, and the actress was asked to voluntarily report to the police. Sakai remains missing. Signals were detected from her mobile phone in Yamanashi on Tuesday.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Wikinews Shorts: August 8, 2009 by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.