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India asks Pak to free 450 prisoners
5 Indians in Saudi jails
Life term for 2 Indians in Dubai
Gaza evacuation nears completion
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182 terror suspects held in UK were asylum seekers: report
Bush invokes Sept 11 to defend Iraq war
Aeroflot mulling Moscow-Amritsar flights
Living in cities raises obesity risk
Brunei Sultan weds former journalist
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India asks Pak to free 450 prisoners
Islamabad, August 21 Asked as to what were the charges against these prisoners, Mr Raghawan said whatever the charges these Indians had completed their terms of sentence and therefore there was no justification to keep them behind bars. About the Tihar jail episode, he said no formal request had been received from Islamabad for the release of Ms Najma Parveen and her five children and Ms Ruby and her child. The diplomat said their release was being delayed apparently because the Pakistani authorities were still in the process of verifying their national status. He expressed surprise over the Pakistani procedure of checking national status of detainees in other countries’ jails. When contacted, Foreign Office spokesman Naeem Khan said the national status of 177 Pakistanis had been checked and a request for their release had been made to India. However, he added, these Pakistanis were still languishing in Indian jails. These prisoners included 139 civilians and 38 fishermen, he said and added that there were 200 more detainees in Indian jails whose national status was to be checked. The spokesman said Pakistan had unilaterally released 589 Indian nationals in March on humanitarian grounds, which was followed by the release of 180 Pakistanis by New Delhi. He said India had not yet provided consular access to Pakistan to enable the staff of its High Commission in New Delhi to meet Mr Hashmi and his wife. The couple and their three children were arrested at Agra. About the procedure to check national status of Pakistanis in other countries’ jails, Mr Khan said the foreign office sent their particulars to the Interior Ministry which forwarded the same to the province concerned. He said the information on their status reached back to the foreign office through the same channel. He said efforts were under way to make the system more efficient. |
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5 Indians in Saudi jails
Dubai, August 21 According to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, the five workers are required to pay blood money ranging between SR100,000 (Rs 11.63 lakh approx) to SR450,000 (Rs 52.35 lakh approx) to the relatives of the victims. The Indian Embassy learned about the cases after the relatives of the detained workers submitted petitions to the Indian authorities seeking their release, I.P. Usman Koya, Chairman of the Non-Resident Keralites Forum (NRKF) — an organisation set up to safeguard the interests of Indian workers in Saudi Arabia, told the Arab News.
— PTI |
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Life term for 2 Indians in Dubai
Dubai, August 21 Oralat Faso Divan and Polia Mafojal Padmana were arrested in March, 2003 on the charges of importing 280 capsules of a psychotropic drug containing “dangerous” dextromoramide without taking permission of the government here, the Saudi Arabia-based ‘Khaleej Times’ reported today. The duo was also accused of selling the drug despite the expiry of its validity by changing labels, it said, claiming they had confessed to distributing the medicine to private clinics. The life sentence to them was handed down by the Dubai Court of Cassation which also imposed a fine of Rs 5.93 lakh each. Earlier, the two were given the same sentence by the Dubai Court of First Instance in January but Divan filed an appeal which was rejected.
— PTI |
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Gaza evacuation nears completion
Katif (Gaza Strip), August 21 Israel’s Cabinet, meanwhile, gave the final approval to the evacuation of the last seven of 25 Gaza and West Bank settlements marked for dismantling. In the West Bank, extremists exchanged blows with soldiers and slashed tires of army jeeps near Sanur, one of the enclaves to be dismantled later this week. The clashes gave a foretaste of violent confrontations expected when the evacuations move to the West Bank. In comments at the start of a Cabinet meeting today, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called acts of violent resistance to the pullout “hooliganism” and said Jewish settler leaders, once his friends and allies, were exploiting the suffering of their followers to push a political agenda. The forcible removal of settlers in 21 Gaza communities began Wednesday, more than a year after Sharon concluded that Israel could no longer defend its 38-year-old occupation of the coastal strip, which Palestinians claimed as part of a future state. The evacuations have proceeded with relatively little violence. Katif, Atzmona and Slav, the remaining communities in the main settlement bloc, Gush Katif, were being emptied today, as was the northern Gaza settlement of Elei Sinai. The last of the 21 Gaza settlements, Netzarim, is to be evacuated tomorrow, with the entire Gaza evacuation compressed into just one week, far shorter than the three weeks security forces foresaw.
— AP |
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182 terror suspects held in UK
London, August 21 According to the Home Office records, 182 of the 717 men and women arrested as terror suspects since 2001 had claimed asylum in the UK. While their applications are processed, all are entitled to state benefits, such as free housing, spending money and access to free education and healthcare worth up to £15,000 per annum. They have also benefited from tens of thousands of pounds in free legal aid to pursue claims that they would be persecuted in their home countries if forced to return. Sir Andrew Green, former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia and chairman of Migration Watch, an independent think tank said: “This is clear evidence of the abuse of the asylum system by potential terrorists. “We need a much tougher and more realistic approach to applications from countries which we know to be potential sources of terrorism.” Earlier this year, it emerged that a number of those charged in a plot to target Britain with the
poison ricin were asylum seekers. Among them was Algerian-born Kamel Bourgass, the gang’s ring leader. He was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison for his part in the plot and also given life sentence for murder of Stephen Oake, a Special Branch detective, during his arrest in Manchester. Abu Qatada, a radical Muslim cleric said to be Al-Qaida’s “spiritual ambassador” in Europe, came to Britain as an asylum seeker from Pakistan in 1993. He was detained this month in an attempt to deport him to his native Jordan. Two men charged over the July 21 failed London bombings had come to Britain as dependants of asylum seekers from Eritrea and Somalia. According to the Home Office, many of the 717 suspects detained have now been released. A report in ‘The Sunday Times’ said its investigation had revealed that Britain’s most influential Muslim leader held shares in an internet company that has helped run a British-based website with links to Al-Qaida. Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), has a stake in Webstar, a firm that has hosted a website for Saad al-Fagih, a Saudi extremist living in London, the report claimed. Al-Fagih is the head of a dissident group called Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA), accused by the American government of providing a platform for Al-Qaida. Al-Fagih, however, denied any connection with terrorism.
— PTI |
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Bush invokes Sept 11 to defend Iraq war
Crawford, Texas, August 21 “Our troops know that they’re fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to protect their fellow Americans from a savage enemy,” Mr Bush said in his weekly radio address. “They know that if we do not confront these evil men abroad, we will have to face them one day in our own cities and streets, and they know that the safety and security of every American is at stake in this war,” he said. Mr Bush next week will speak to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Utah, and meet with members of the Idaho National Guard and the Mountain Home Air Force Base, which played a leading role in the air bombing campaign in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks. Public is showing more discontent with Bush’s handling of Iraq, with high-profile protests during his ranch vacation and new poll results showing nearly six in 10 Americans are worrying about the outcome of the war.
— Reuters |
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Aeroflot mulling Moscow-Amritsar flights
Moscow, August 21 The airliner, which operates flights between Moscow and Delhi and also Mumbai, “is exploring the possibility (of flying to Amritsar). The feasibility studies are on”, Mr Tatiana Zotova, Marketing Director of Aeroflot, told a group of visiting Indian reporters here. As Amritsar has the potential to offer enhanced passenger flow to Europe and North America, the airliner is keen on exploring the possibility of operating between Amritsar and Moscow, he said. Carrying on an average 25,000 passengers per month to Moscow, the airline was optimistic that a new route would largely cater to the people from Punjab frequenting Toronto, London and Milan.
— PTI |
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Living in cities raises obesity risk
London, August 21 Obesity levels are high and increasing worldwide, and studies have suggested that the place of residence may be associated with levels of obesity and physical activity. Evidence also suggests that levels of incivilities, such as litter and graffiti, are linked to poorer health. Based on this work, the team set out to test the theory that areas which are pleasant with lots of greenery and few incivilities might encourage people to take exercise and thereby influence levels of obesity. Surveyors assessed the immediate residential environment, including the amount of graffiti, litter and dog mess, as well as the level of vegetation and greenery visible on the dwelling and streets immediately surrounding it.
— ANI |
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Brunei Sultan weds former journalist
Kuala Lumpur, August 21 The private wedding ceremony of 58-year old Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and 26-year-old Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim in the Malaysian capital last night contrasted sharply with previous celebrations involving members of the Brunei royal family. In 1996, entertainer Michael Jackson was flown in to perform free for the people of Brunei to mark the Sultan’s 50th birthday. The same year, the Sultan held a week-long celebration with concerts by American pop stars Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston to mark the marriage of his eldest daughter. Sultan Hassanal divorced his second wife, Mariam Abdul Aziz, in February 2003, the newspaper said. He remains married to Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajjah Saleha, his first wife.
— Reuters |
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