W O R L D

Kasab’s questioning key to 26/11 case: Pak court Islamabad, October 16
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of Lashkar-e-Toiba’s Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six others charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks today said the case can’t proceed unless key witnesses like Ajmal Kasab and Fahim Ansari are examined. Besides Ajmal Kasab (pic), Pak court wants to examine Fahim Ansari

China mine blast kills 20, 17 trapped
Beijing, October 16
At least 20 workers were killed and 17 others trapped underground when a gas explosion hit a coal mine in the China's central Henan province today, the latest in a series of mishaps that have rocked the country's mining sector considered the most dangerous in the world.

Rescuers outside the coal mine in Yuzhou, Henan province, on Saturday. — Reuters

Guantanamo Survivor Speaks
‘Six years of hell’
Sydney, October 16
Australia’s former long-serving Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks today broke his silence on life inside the US-run prison, saying he endured deprivation and witnessed brutality in “six years of hell”.

Pak to bid for UNSC seat next year
United Nations, October 16
Pakistan will try for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council next year and hopes to get India's support for its bid, the country’s diplomat to the world body has said.

Saudi Prince may face death for being gay
London, October 16
The Saudi Prince, who allegedly killed his manservant at a posh London hotel, faces execution in his homeland — not for the murder but “for being gay”, a media report said.

Kasab’s questioning key to 26/11 case: Pak court

Islamabad, October 16
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of Lashkar-e-Toiba’s Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six others charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks today said the case can’t proceed unless key witnesses like Ajmal Kasab and Fahim Ansari are examined.

Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan made the observation after prosecution lawyers were unable to satisfy him on two key issues - serving of a non-bailable arrest warrant issued for Ansari and receipt of written permission from India for sending a commission to interview key witnesses.

The judge, who conducted the in-camera proceedings at the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, said a report submitted by the prosecution mentioned that another non-bailable arrest warrant issued for lone-surviving Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab could not be served as he was on death row following his conviction and sentencing by an Indian court.

However, the prosecution's report was silent on the arrest warrant issued for Ansari, an Indian suspect who was acquitted by the court in Mumbai, the judge noted. “Unless the process of serving the warrant is completed and the court gets an opportunity to examine witnesses like Ansari, the trial cannot move forward,” the judge was quoted as saying by sources.

The judge also heard detailed arguments by the prosecution and defence lawyers on the government's application to set up a commission to visit India to interview 24 key witnesses, including Kasab, the magistrate who recorded Kasab's confession and the police officer who led the probe into the Mumbai attacks. The prosecution was unable to satisfy the judge that Pakistan had received written permission from Indian authorities for the commission to visit India, the sources said. Defence lawyers produced clippings from the media, which said the Indian government would consider allowing the commission to visit the country if it received a request from Pakistani authorities.

The prosecution then sought four weeks from the court to complete various formalities and Judge Awan scheduled the next hearing for November 13. The prosecution also contended that the case had been complicated because of Red Corner Notices issued by Interpol at India's request for two serving Pakistani army officers, the sources said.

Arguments on the proposal to send the commission to India are expected to be completed at the next hearing, the sources said. Interior Minister Rehman Malik recently admitted that the trial of the seven Pakistani suspects had stalled and it was imperative for the commission to visit India and record the testimony of key witnesses.

However, lawyers defending the suspects have refused to be part of the commission. The trial of the Pakistani suspects has been mired in controversy and delays since last year. The court has been able to record the testimony of only one out of over 160 witnesses so far. — PTI

China mine blast kills 20, 17 trapped

Beijing, October 16
At least 20 workers were killed and 17 others trapped underground when a gas explosion hit a coal mine in the China's central Henan province today, the latest in a series of mishaps that have rocked the country's mining sector considered the most dangerous in the world.

The blast took place in the mine situated in Yuzhou city of the province at 6 am local time, the official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the rescue headquarters officials. Rescuers retrieved 20 bodies and were searching for the trapped minors after “a sudden coal and gas outburst” in the mine owned by Pingyu Coal and Electric Company Limited, the National Work Safety Agency said.

Mine accidents have become common in China following immense demand for coal to back up energy supplies. China had recently announced a new set of safety rules asking the managers of the mines to accompany the workers during the operations. — PTI

Guantanamo Survivor Speaks
‘Six years of hell’

Sydney, October 16
Australia’s former long-serving Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks today broke his silence on life inside the US-run prison, saying he endured deprivation and witnessed brutality in “six years of hell”.

Hicks, now in his mid-30s, said he was in a “haze of disbelief and fear, pain and confusion” when he arrived in Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in early 2002 and was placed in a cage made of cyclone fencing. “The first two weeks of Camp X-Ray was a blur of hardships: no sleeping, no talking, no moving, no looking, no information,” he writes in ‘Guantanamo: My Journey’ released today.

Hicks, once dubbed the “Aussie Taliban”, was captured in late 2001 in Afghanistan and spent over five years in Guantanamo before being sent home in April 2007 to serve out the remainder of the sentence. He was released in late 2007. "After yelling directly into my ear, he took me by the hand and began to pull me away. I went to resist, but he made a gesture to go for his gun," Hicks writes. "With dread, I resigned myself to the situation and allowed myself to be led away. This was the beginning of six years of hell." — AFP

Pak to bid for UNSC seat next year

United Nations, October 16
Pakistan will try for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council next year and hopes to get India's support for its bid, the country’s diplomat to the world body has said.

“... next year we’re trying for a Security Council seat (from the Asian region) and I believe that the Indians have said that they will support us there,” Abdullah Hussain Haroon told PTI.

He also wished India well for its two-year tenure as a non-permanent UNSC member, beginning from January 2011. Pakistan had supported India in the recent election for non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council.

Haroon pointed out that Pakistan's support for India was rooted in the Asian Group’s efforts to keep a united front. On whether Pakistan would support India’s bid for a permanent UNSC seat, Haroon gave a guarded response, saying: “I think these things go one after another...let's see where the world takes us.” — PTI

Saudi Prince may face death for being gay

London, October 16
The Saudi Prince, who allegedly killed his manservant at a posh London hotel, faces execution in his homeland — not for the murder but “for being gay”, a media report said.

A court was told that homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and carries death penalty, which could be applied if the 34-yr-old Prince’s family decide that he has brought shame on them, ‘The Sun’ reported.

Prince Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, grandson of the Saudi King, has admitted manslaughter but strenuously denies having a “gay fling” with his victim — found beaten and strangled at a London hotel where the pair were allegedly on a holiday. Servant Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz, 32, had bite marks on him, said to have been caused during a sex romp. — PTI