South Africa police deploy for Terreblanche funeral

A major security operation has been mounted for the funeral of white supremacist Eugene Terreblanche, who was killed on his farm on Sunday.

Several police and army units have been deployed to prevent possible clashes between supporters of Terreblanche and the local black population.

Around 3,000 people are commemorating his controversial life in the north-western rural town of Ventersdorp.

Terreblanche led the Afrikaner Resistance movement, the AWB.

Thousands of AWB supporters have gathered in the town, with the mourners including both armed men in camouflage and young children, says the BBC's Karen Allen in Ventersdorp.

South Africa's trade union federation Cosatu is holding a mass meeting on the other side of the town.

Our correspondent says the effect of this meeting - called to discuss recent farm violence - is not clear.

On the one hand, it is a way of occupying some black farm workers who otherwise might turn up at the funeral, she says.

But on the other hand, it could be seen as a somewhat provocative gesture given the timing, she adds.

The Afrikaner Protestant Church where the service is being held, is normally attended mostly by white South Africans.

As a gesture of reconciliation, dignitaries from the local black community have been invited to attend the service, our correspondent says.

But just a handful of them are likely to take up that offer, she adds.

Two of Terreblanche's workers have been charged with his murder.

Although the authorities stress that the killing had more to do with money than politics, it has led to a period of heightened racial tension.

White groups and opposition parties blamed an ANC official, Julius Malema, for singing an apartheid-era song at rallies, that includes the lyrics "shoot the Boer [farmer]".

The ANC has rejected that link, but accepts that the song and the debate around it was polarising society.

It has now instructed its members to stop using it.

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Irish police 'battle' violence threat from dissidents

The violent threat posed by dissident republicans is a "constant battle" for police both sides of the Irish border, a minister in the Irish Republic says.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern also said the determination of dissident groups to mount attacks was "getting stronger and stronger".

His comments come as a service will be held to mark the first anniversary of the deaths of two soldiers in Antrim.

The Real IRA shot Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey at Massereene army base.

The memorial ceremony is to take place inside the Massereene barracks later, led by members of the 38th Engineers Regiment.

'Co-operation'

In the aftermath of the double killing, a police officer, Stephen Carroll, was shot dead by the Continuity IRA.

In a statement at the time, the Continuity IRA said: "As long as there is British involvement in Ireland, these attacks will continue."

There were fears that Northern Ireland could slide back towards full-scale violence.

But that did not happen and the peace process remains strong, in spite of the continued efforts to destroy it.

Mr Ahern said the police in Northern Ireland and the Republic were co-operating closely to try to stop the dissidents.

In a BBC interview, he said: "It's a constant battle. As soon as you put some into prison, others pop up, and obviously after people serve their prison sentences sometimes they go back to their nefarious activities.

"There's been a succession of incidents, really from last September onwards. Thirteen major incidents. They've been escalating in their seriousness. The resolve of these people seems to be getting stronger and stronger."

He also said the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA had begun working together on some attacks.

"This is significant in that, perhaps, some of the capabilities that one would have, might feed into the other, and vice versa. And this is something that is worrying the security services."

The threat level is reflected in the range and geographical spread of attacks so far this year - a booby-trap bomb in Co Antrim, gun attacks in Co Armagh, a car-bomb in Co Down and a fatal shooting in Co Londonderry.

Power sharing

Although the police have been the main targets of the dissidents, no officer has been killed since Constable Carroll.

The overall level of violence is well below what it used to be in Northern Ireland.

While the Real IRA and Continuity IRA may have recruited some new members in the past year, there is no evidence of a major influx.

Their political allies continue to attract only minimal support and there is no sign of them putting themselves forward in the forthcoming Westminster election.

It seems they realise they would be electorally humiliated.

The Hillsborough Castle agreement in February was a sign that the power-sharing Stormont Assembly may be settling down after months of uncertainty.

The recent increase in violence is seen as an attempt to try to destabilise the situation again.

The dissidents want to wreck the Assembly. The political parties at Stormont are determined not to let them win.

The peace process has been tested in the past year, and it has proved to be much more resilient than some had feared.

However, these remain challenging times in Northern Ireland, for the police and politicians alike.

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Police minister condemns Nigeria police 'killings'

Nigeria's police minister has launched a scathing attack on the force, accusing officers of killings, robbery and other abuses.

Ibrahim Lame said the lack of security was "condemnable and unacceptable".

Human rights groups have frequently accused Nigeria's police of abuses and corruption but it is rare for the government to make similar charges.

The national police chief blamed the security problems on poverty, corruption and religious tension.

Mr Lame told a meeting of police commanders: "The current rate of crime across the nation, rising cases of extra-judicial killings, human rights violations, robberies, high-profile assassination and deliberate failure to comply with government directives are testimony to the sheer incapacity or wilful defiance of police high command" to government directives.

Inspector General of Police Ogbonna Onovo said the police were "operating under unbearable conditions", reports the Vanguard newspaper, adding that criminals were often better armed than the police.

Last year, a BBC investigation found that staff in the mortuary in the south-eastern city of Enugu were unable to cope with the large number of bodies the police were delivering - many of whom had been accused of being armed robbers.

Amnesty International's Erwin van der Borght said: "The Nigerian police are responsible for hundreds of unlawful killings every year."

Mr Onovo also denied reports that armed robbers had ordered a bus driver to run over passengers on the Lagos-Benin highway last week - shocking pictures of this incident prompted the Senate to open an inquiry earlier this week.

He said a truck had killed the passengers who were on the road after their bus had been held up by the bandits.

The police face criticism for not even attending the incident.

But the BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says Nigerians are accustomed to seeing bodies pile up.

A video aired on al-Jazeera television this year apparently showed police and soldiers shooting unarmed civilians in the head, after the siege of a religious sect.

Seventeen officers are under arrest.

Our correspondent says Nigeria's culture of police brutality - and impunity - is powerful and the history of investigations holding the authorities to account is poor

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