10 Kiram men killed in Sabah

MANILA - The spokesman of the sultanate of Sulu claimed 10 people were killed and 4 others were wounded in the firefight between Malaysian forces and the group of Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram in Sabah, Malaysia Friday.

Spokesman Abraham Idjirani said he had just talked to Kiram who confirmed that 10 of his men were killed while 4 others were wounded in the shooting incident Friday.

The report runs counter to information from the Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines who said there were no fatalities in the shooting.

Lahad Datu stand-off: Sulu Sultan's brother says shots fired at them

By RUBEN SARIO

Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, the 74-year-old Sultan of Sulu, listens
to a question at a press conference in Manila on Feb 26.

LAHAD DATU: Malaysian security forces on Friday started firing at a group of Filipinos holed up in a village in Sabah, the brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III claimed.

In an interview with radio dzBB at about 10am on Friday, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, the leader of the group now holed up at a village in Lahad Datu, said they were being shot at and had to "defend" themselves.

"Biglang pumasok sa amin (They suddenly came in), we had to defend ourselves," Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram said.

Russia's military threatens preemptive strike if NATO goes ahead with missile plan

By Mansur Mirovalev, The Associated Press
MOSCOW - Russia's top military officer has threatened to carry out a pre-emptive strike on U.S.-led NATO missile defence facilities in Eastern Europe if Washington goes ahead with its controversial plan to build a missile shield.

President Dmitry Medvedev said last year that Russia will retaliate militarily if it does not reach an agreement with the United States and NATO on the missile defence system.