Biography: Riz Khan

Riz Khan Riz Khan is a recognised face worldwide following extensive careers with the BBC and CNN prior to joining Al Jazeera English. He was a presenter and reporter at the BBC for eight years and was the first mainstream Asian newsreader for their international network. He hosted the news bulletin that launched BBC World Service Television News in 1991. After presenting there for two years he was poached by CNN for their own international channel where he became a senior anchor for the network’s global news shows and special events including the historic live coverage of the Hajj. In 1996 he launched his interactive interview show on CNN: Q&A with Riz Khan and he has conducted thousands of interviews with guests including the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela, to name a few. Born in 1962 in South Yemen, Riz and his family moved to London when he was four. He attended the University of Wales where he gained an honours degree in Medical Physiology. He took a course in radio journalism in Portsmouth and joined the BBC News Trainee scheme in 1987. In 2005 he authored his first book: Al-Waleed: Businessman Billionaire Prince, published by Harper Collins. Publshed by (MR.KAKAR)

UN chief calls for Sri Lankan unity

Hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting are living in the Manik Farm camp [AF The UN secretary-general has called on Sri Lanka's leaders to seek reconciliation with the country's ethnic Tamils after the end of it 26-year conflict with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Ban Ki-moon made the remarks on Saturday before visiting the largest camp for civilians displaced by the recent conflict in the northeast of the island. "Now that the long decades of conflict are over, it is time for Sri Lankans to heal the wounds and unite without regards to ethnic and religious identity," Ban said. Later, Ban held talks with Mahinda Rajapakse, the president, and Rohitha Bogollagama, the foreign minister. "The UN must be given immediate unhindered access to the camps, the overcrowding must end and there should be special programmes for pregnant mothers and children," Ban said after meeting Rajapakse in the central town of Kandy. By (MR.KAKAR)

Mongolia votes in presidential poll

Elbegdorj, regarded as a liberal and populist candidate, is the only opposition challenger [EPA] Polls have opened in Mongolia for a tightly-contested presidential election that comes nearly a year after allegations of vote-rigging sparked deadly violence in the country's last national poll. Sunday's vote pits Nambaryn Enkhbayar, the incumbent president and leader of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary party (MPRP), against his sole challenger, Tsakhia Elbegdorj of the Democratic Party. Enkhbayar has pledged to continue government support for his party's rural base, while Elbegdorj has pitched his campaign on reforming control of Mongolia's rich natural resources. Elbegdorj, regarded as a liberal and populist opposition candidate, has said he will work to ensure Mongolia's natural resources are used "to improve the livelihood of the Mongolian people". Landmark deal Though the office of president is largely ceremonial in Mongolia, the contest for the presidency has distracted parliament from work on approving a landmark agreement on investment in the country's mining industry. By(MR.KAKAR)

Bad weather delays Atlantis landing

Clouds surrounded Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, making it hard for Atlantis to land [AFP] Thunderstorms have prevented space shuttle Atlantis from returning to its home base in Florida for a second straight day. Atlantis's seven astronauts, who were supposed to land on Friday, are now having to keep circling the Earth. The astronauts had been repairing and upgrading Hubble Space Telescope, an exercise that lasted 12 days. On Saturday, offshore storms forced Nasa, the US space agency, to skip both morning landing attempts at Kennedy Space Centre. As Atlantis soared overhead, right around what would have been landing time, commander Scott Altman called down that he saw a "pretty solid mass of clouds". "It looks to us like maybe it is starting to break up and move out, so we're hopeful to get home tomorrow," he said. "We're sharing your optimism," Mission Control replied. Despite an equally dismal forecast for Sunday, Mission Control opted to wait out the bad weather rather than move the landing to California. Next Nasa chief Nasa mission control chiefs will re-examine prospects for a safe landing on Sunday. As the astronauts settled in for another day in space, Barack Obama, the US president, announced that Charles Bolden, a former shuttle commander, was his choice for Nasa's next administrator. Obama told the Atlantis crew earlier in the week by telephone that an announcement was imminent. Mission Control relayed the news to the astronauts two hours later. "I guess it wasn't any of us in the flight after all," Altman joked. If confirmed by the senate, Bolden would become the space agency's first black administrator and only the second astronaut ever to hold the post. Publish by (MR.KAKAR)

Resignation over Mexico jail escape

A senior Mexican official has handed in his resignation after 53 prisoners escaped with security guards standing by. Alejando Rojas Chalico, the public security minister for Zacatecas, the northern state where the incident occurred, resigned six days after the escape. Police are offering a $76,000 reward for each inmate who were seen on security camera video taking less than three minutes to flee the prison. An armed man posing as a commando in a police uniform had broken into Cieneguillas prison last Saturday and released the men. Footage shows several trucks with police markings on them arriving at the jail. About 20 men then walked into that jail without any resistance from guards. Almost a dozen of them are suspected members of the Zetas - the armed wing of the powerful Gulf drug cartel - with involvement in kidnapping or robberies. Interpol has put out an international security alert for 11 of the fugitives. Prison guards told local media that they had been threatened by the Zetas in recent months. Published by(MR.KAKAR)

Obama attacks Guantanamo 'mess'

Barack Obama has defended his decision to close the Guantanamo Bay US prison camp, saying it probably "created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained".

"We're cleaning up something that is quite simply a mess," the US president said in Washington on Thursday, as he attempted to broker a consensus among officials who have rejected his plans to close Guantanamo.

"As commander-in-chief, I see the intelligence, I bare the responsibility of keeping this country safe and I categorically reject the assertion that these [the camp and military tribunal system] are the most effective ways of keeping this country safe," Obama said.

Canada convicts Rwandan of genocide

A court in Canada has found a former Rwandan militia leader guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for his role in murders, torture and rape during the slaughter of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Desire Munyaneza could face life imprisonment after a Quebec Superior Court convicted him on Friday.

"Desire Munyaneza intentionally killed dozens in Butare and its surroundings that were not directly involved in the conflict, raped several women, and pillaged homes and businesses of people who also had nothing to do with the unrest," Andre Denis, the judge, said.

"As such, you have been found guilty of committing war crimes as defined under Canadian law," he said to the accused.

Munyaneza was the first person to be tried under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, which allows residents to be tried for crimes committed abroad.

Witnesses

Munyaneza's two-year trial heard from 66 witnesses in Canada, France, Rwanda and Tanzania.

The court was told that Munyaneza, the son of a wealthy Hutu beer distributor, set up roadblocks in southern Rwanda to select Tutsis and moderate Hutu as victims based on their ethnicity or allegiances.

One man who was imprisoned in Rwanda for his own role in the genocide testified that Munyaneza orchestrated the massacre of between 300 and 400 Tutsis in a church.

"The accused's criminal intent was demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt, as was his culpable violence," Denis wrote in his judgement.

The UN estimates that more than 800,000 people were killed during the violence.

"I'm very happy he was found guilty. I want to thank and congratulate Canada," Caesar Gashabeze, a survivor of the genocide, said.

"We have been waiting for this."

Appeal

The defence said it would appeal the conviction after repeatedly questioning the testimony of witnesses and highlighting the fact that most were unable to identify Munyaneza's prominnent facial scar.

"The evidence did not justify a conviction," Richard Perras, Munyaneza's lawyer, said.

Munyaneza was arrested in Toronto in 2005 after seeking asylum in Canada, which Canadian immigration officials rejected. He had fled to Cameroon after the genocide.

The prosecutor said that the case illustrated Canada's commitment to bringing war criminals to justice.

"The case was very challenging as it involved events dating back 15 years in a foreign country, Rwanda," Pascale Ledoux said.

Munyaneza will be sentenced in September.

WRITEN BY (MR.KAKAR)