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Putin re-elected Russian
President
Bomb found near US Consulate in
Karachi
US forces kill 3 in
Afghanistan New York, March 15 Federal agents have arrested a woman on a charge of smuggling people, including Indians, across the US-Canada border. |
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Socialists win in aftermath of Spain blasts Kathmandu casino goes online
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Putin re-elected Russian President Moscow, March 15 Mr Putin’s nearest rival Nikolai Kharitonov polled 13.7 per cent, followed by Sergei Glazyev 4.1 per cent, Irina Khakamada 3.9 per cent, Oleg Malyshkin 2 per cent and Sergei Mironov 0.8 per cent, RIA Novosti news agency quoting Chairman of the Central Election Commission Alexander Veshnyakov said. “Four years after the last presidential elections, we have showed a much better result, and not merely repeated the previous one,” Mr Putin remarked after his victory. “This is the acknowledgement, or rather, assessment of what was done in the past four years,” he told reporters at the election staff headquarters. On his vision for the future, the Russian President said, he was ready to work on history and modernise Russia. “We should not be guided by unrealistic ideas that no one understands. We should work for concrete people who live today, for our children and grandchildren.” “We will act resolutely but will try to explain each of our steps to the people so that they realize what is being done and why and what goals we are setting by carrying out transformations in the economy and in the social sphere,” Mr Putin added. BEIJING: Chinese President Hu Jintao has welcomed the re-election of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and pledged to step up bilateral ties. “I express the most sincere congratulations and good wishes to you as your excellency was re-elected as Russian President,” said Hu in a telegram to Putin on Monday, the Xinhua news agency reported. “In recent years China and Russia’s strategic and cooperative partnership has been in deep development and the political trust between the two countries has been strengthened,” he said after Putin stormed to a victory. China and Russia share a 4,300-km long border and have sought to bolster their bilateral ties in recent years. Japan also welcomed his re-election, stressing the importance of continuing to improve ties between the former foes. “His achievements were approved. (The re-election) is a reflection of voters holding high hopes for the strong leader,” Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said.
— UNI, AFP |
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Bomb found near US Consulate in
Karachi Islamabad, March 15 Security guards posted at the Consulate saw four men parking the van near the building and asked them to remove it, state television , PTV, quoted police officials. The four claimed that the van was being repaired and quickly got into another that followed their van and drove away. Suspecting something amiss, security personnel immediately called the police, who found a huge plastic container placed inside the van filled with 750 litres of explosive chemical containing hydroperoxide and nitrogen. The police also found a timer similar to the one used in washing machines connected to
it. The device was defused by the bomb disposal squad and the vehicle was taken away to a playing ground near the Rangers headquarters. The liquid explosives, if detonated, could have caused enormous damage to life and property, police officials said. The police is also investigating the involvement of Al-Qaida network in the incident. The van was snatched at gunpoint from Baluch Colony in the city yesterday when the owner was taking it out from his the house, the police said adding that the assailants shot the van owner and injured him when he resisted. Efforts were being made to draw the sketches of the culprits in light of the statement given by the Suzuki owner. —
PTI |
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US forces kill 3 in Afghanistan Kabul, March 15 The skirmish was the first reported by the US military since the start of a new operation on March 7 designed to intensify the campaign against a stubborn Taliban-led insurgency and to track down terrorist leaders, including Osama bin Laden. The clash occurred on Saturday morning as several troops, including special forces, searched the complex southwest of Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, 380 km southwest of the capital Kabul, spokesman Lt-Col Bryan Hilferty said. He said the coalition troops, who were armed with rifles and machine guns, also came under fire, but none was reported injured. Hilferty said troops, including special forces, arrested five militiamen in the caves on Saturday and that eight more suspects were detained in the same area yesterday. —
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Woman held for smuggling Indians across border New York, March 15 Special Agent Jacob Black of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, working with US Border Patrol officials, took Deborah Friedman of Shatcom Country into custody after an informer alerted them about a smuggling ring, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has reported. The newspaper in Washington state said Friedman was charged with felony and misdemeanour. If she is convicted of her counts, which includes smuggling of people, she faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison and a quarter million dollars as fine. Agent Black and the two Border Patrol officials met with the informer who told them that Friedman had been working with a local Indian citizen and arranged for the illegal transportation of other Indians across the border. Friedman’s role, according to the informer, was to pick the foreigners at a duty-free shop near border upon their illegal entry into the USA by walking past the border and going to the store’s restroom.
The chargesheet quoted the informer as saying that Friedman was paid $ 500 for every alien she picked up on the border and drove into Seattle. The informer said he saw with Friedman about $ 5,000, the money apparently earned by her for smuggling the aliens. —
UNI |
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Socialists win in aftermath of Spain blasts
Madrid, March 15 “This is a victory for the Spanish people, a victory for democracy,” Jose Luis Rodrigues Zapatero, head of the victorious Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), said yesterday amid scenes of euphoria at the party headquarters. Interior Minister Angel Acebes said the PSOE had obtained 43.01 per cent of the vote and won 164 seats in the 350-member Chamber of Deputies. The ruling conservative Popular Party (PP), which was predicted to prevail a week ago, won only 148 seats, with 37.47 per cent of the vote. “I sincerely congratulate the Socialist Party for their win,” government spokesman Eduardo Zaplana said in conceding defeat. Zapatero, still rejoicing at his party headquarters, said he wanted to call a minute’s silence for “the broken lives” as a result of Thursday’s train massacre, and pledged that combating terrorism would be a top priority for the new government. —
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Kathmandu casino goes online Kathmandu, March 15 The casinonepalonline.com, launched by The Nepal Recreation Centre (NRC) from March 1, is offering online gaming facilities to those casino-lovers who are far away from Kathmandu, said Bharat Shakya, General Manager of the NRC. Some of the casino games available online include Black Jack, Video Poker, Roulette, Craps, and Jackpot, Rekha Bose Gurung, Executive Manager of the website, said. —
PTI |
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Russian President Vladimir Putin was re-elected for a second-term today with a landslide 71.2 per cent votes cast in his favour.
Mr Putin’s nearest rival Nikolai Kharitonov polled 13.7 per cent, followed by Sergei Glazyev 4.1 per cent, Irina Khakamada 3.9 per cent, Oleg Malyshkin 2 per cent and Sergei Mironov 0.8 per cent, RIA Novosti news agency quoting Chairman of the Central Election Commission Alexander Veshnyakov said.
In video (
Spain’s ruling conservatives have been defeated in the general election as a heavy turnout punished the government in the highly emotional aftermath of the Madrid train bombings in which 200 persons were killed.
“This is a victory for the Spanish people, a victory for democracy,” Jose Luis Rodrigues Zapatero, head of the victorious Socialist Workers’ Party, said yesterday amid scenes of euphoria at the party headquarters.
