In Brief

SA dentist ‘not al Qaeda backer’ A South African dentist and his cousin, a Muslim cleric, have denied having any links to al Qaeda or the Taleban.

They were put on a UN Security Council terror list after US accusations they were al Qaeda “facilitators and terrorist financiers”. Dentist Junaid Ismail Dockrat and cleric Moulana Farhad Ahmed Dockrat have threatened legal action to clear their names.They face a travel ban and having their assets frozen.The South African government has been in contact with the US over the allegations, the South African Sunday Times reported.The US document claimed that the pair raised money for an al Qaeda associated group in Pakistan and that Junaid Dockrat recruited for al Qaeda in 2004.Junaid Dockrat dismissed the allegations as being “patently false and devoid of any merit”.”I am a law-abiding citizen and am prepared to contest these allegations in a court of law.I have full confidence that our government will not yield to pressure to act in a manner that will deprive me of my constitutional rights and my right to be presumed innocent,” he said.Moulana Dockrat, who was detained with his son while on a trip to Gambia last year, also denied the allegations.”If one is a Muslim and has Muslim interests at heart, one is considered a terrorist by the United States,” he said.* Canadian farmer accused of killing 49 women NEW WESTMINSTER – Jurors prepared to watch videotaped interviews in which accused serial killer Robert William Pickton acknowledges slaying 49 women when his trial resumes after the first day of the most sensational murder trial Canadians have ever faced.Pickton, 56, has been charged with 26 counts of first-degree murder, accused of killing mostly prostitutes and drug addicts who vanished from a drug-ridden Vancouver neighbourhood in the 1990s.He has pleaded not guilty to the first six counts.The other 20 counts of murder were to be heard in a separate trial.As the first day ended, jurors were told that they would observe Pickton talking about his alleged crimes first hand when the trial resumes yesterday.The trial opened Monday with prosecutor Derrill Prevett stunning the courtroom, saying Pickton had told investigators, including an undercover police officer planted in his jail cell, that he had slain 49 women.”I was going to do one more and make it an even 50,” Prevett quoted Pickton as telling investigators.”I made my own grave by being sloppy.”Pickton went on to describe himself as a mass murderer who deserved to be on death row, according to Prevett.* China confirms satellite downed China has confirmed it carried out a test that destroyed a satellite, in a move that caused international alarm.Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said a test had been carried out but insisted China was committed to the “peaceful development of outer space”.The US backed reports last week that China had used a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile to destroy a weather satellite.A senior Taiwanese politician said he viewed it as an aggressive act.It is the first known satellite intercept test for more than 20 years.Several countries, including Japan, Australia and the US, have expressed concern at the test, amid worries it could trigger a space arms race.Until yesterday, China had refused to confirm or deny the January 11 test.Nampa-AP-BBCDentist Junaid Ismail Dockrat and cleric Moulana Farhad Ahmed Dockrat have threatened legal action to clear their names.They face a travel ban and having their assets frozen.The South African government has been in contact with the US over the allegations, the South African Sunday Times reported.The US document claimed that the pair raised money for an al Qaeda associated group in Pakistan and that Junaid Dockrat recruited for al Qaeda in 2004.Junaid Dockrat dismissed the allegations as being “patently false and devoid of any merit”.”I am a law-abiding citizen and am prepared to contest these allegations in a court of law.I have full confidence that our government will not yield to pressure to act in a manner that will deprive me of my constitutional rights and my right to be presumed innocent,” he said.Moulana Dockrat, who was detained with his son while on a trip to Gambia last year, also denied the allegations.”If one is a Muslim and has Muslim interests at heart, one is considered a terrorist by the United States,” he said. * Canadian farmer accused of killing 49 women NEW WESTMINSTER – Jurors prepared to watch videotaped interviews in which accused serial killer Robert William Pickton acknowledges slaying 49 women when his trial resumes after the first day of the most sensational murder trial Canadians have ever faced.Pickton, 56, has been charged with 26 counts of first-degree murder, accused of killing mostly prostitutes and drug addicts who vanished from a drug-ridden Vancouver neighbourhood in the 1990s.He has pleaded not guilty to the first six counts.The other 20 counts of murder were to be heard in a separate trial.As the first day ended, jurors were told that they would observe Pickton talking about his alleged crimes first hand when the trial resumes yesterday.The trial opened Monday with prosecutor Derrill Prevett stunning the courtroom, saying Pickton had told investigators, including an undercover police officer planted in his jail cell, that he had slain 49 women.”I was going to do one more and make it an even 50,” Prevett quoted Pickton as telling investigators.”I made my own grave by being sloppy.”Pickton went on to describe himself as a mass murderer who deserved to be on death row, according to Prevett.* China confirms satellite downed China has confirmed it carried out a test that destroyed a satellite, in a move that caused international alarm.Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said a test had been carried out but insisted China was committed to the “peaceful development of outer space”.The US backed reports last week that China had used a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile to destroy a weather satellite.A senior Taiwanese politician said he viewed it as an aggressive act.It is the first known satellite intercept test for more than 20 years.Several countries, including Japan, Australia and the US, have expressed concern at the test, amid worries it could trigger a space arms race.Until yesterday, China had refused to confirm or deny the January 11 test.Nampa-AP-BBC