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US warns India, other govts of Wikileaks release
UN envoy visits Myanmar for political assessment
78-yr-old former cop held for threatening to kill Obama
Suicide attack at Afghan police HQ kills 12
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DAMASCUS DIARY Red-carpet welcome for Patil Huge iron gates, strict security vigil and the picturesque Kasra Sha’ab or the People’s Palace, nestled in all this. With the Qassioun range overlooking the majestic official residence which is used to greet state heads and host state banquets, seemed the perfect setting for a warm reception President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma al-Assad extended to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and her husband Devisingh Shekhawat.
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US warns India, other govts of Wikileaks release
94 vital documents on Pak to be posted Washington: WikiLeaks is expected to publish 94 documents about Pakistan soon, according to diplomatic sources. The documents mainly contain telegrams sent by the US Embassy in Islamabad to the State Department in Washington, the Dawn reported. Some of these papers relate to US observations about Pakistan's policy towards Afghanistan, the debate within Pakistan on the war against terror, Islamabad's cooperation with Washington, US reservations about Pakistan's nuclear programme and other military and intelligence matters. — ANI
New York, November 27 “We have reached out to India to warn them about a possible release of documents,” State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told PTI. “We do not know precisely what WikiLeaks has or what it plans to do. We have made our position clear. These documents should not be released,” Crowley said, ahead of the expected release by the website of millions of sensitive diplomatic cables. It is not known yet what is contained in these documents about India-related issues. The WikiLeaks has said there would be “seven times” as many secret documents as the 400,000 Iraq war logs it published last month. On his Twitter account, Crowley said the State Department officials have also contacted leaders in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Britain, France and Afghanistan. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton too reached out to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, as the WikiLeaks is expected to release some three million classified US cables involving some of its key allies, including Australia, Britain, Israel, Russia, Turkey and India. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged WikiLeaks to stop “dangerous” leaks. “I would hope that those who are responsible for this would, at some point in time, think about the responsibility that they have for lives that they're exposing...and stop leaking this information,” Admiral Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the CNN. “It continues to be extremely dangerous,” he said. “We are very mindful of the announcement that WikiLeaks made earlier this week, that there is a release of documents pending at some point in the future.” If the past is prologue, that would mean that certain news organisations may well already be in possession of specific documents, Crowley told reporters early this week. “So we continue to work through, as we have throughout this process, evaluating both the material that we think was previously leaked from government sources to WikiLeaks and we continue to make clear that this is harmful to our national security. It does put lives at risk. It does put national interests at risk,” he said. “Inherent in this day-to-day action is trust that we can convey our perspective to other governments in confidence and that they can convey their perspective on events to us,” Crowley said. “And when this confidence is betrayed and ends up on the front pages of newspapers or lead stories on television and radio it has an impact.” These revelations are “harmful” to the United States and its interests, he said. “They are going to create tension in our relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world,” he said.
— PTI
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UN envoy visits Myanmar for political assessment
Yangon, November 27 Vijay Nambiar met with Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, who was released from seven years of house arrest on November 13, for nearly two hours in Yangon but his itinerary did not include the capital Naypyitaw, home to government ministers and the junta top brass. Diplomats said Nambiar's failure to meet the regime on his first visit, just a few weeks after Myanmar's first election in two decades and ahead of the formation of a new civilian-led government, suggests there could be many hurdles ahead in the West's efforts to engage the generals. Nambiar, who was appointed special envoy to Myanmar by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this year, was scheduled to meet diplomats and recently elected lawmakers over the weekend. He is due to leave Myanmar on Monday. She welcomed the Indian diplomat's visit and called for more engagement with the U.N. "We were able to tell him what we wanted to do, while we got a chance to know the secretary general's feelings," Suu Kyi said. "It was a worthwhile meeting for all. We need to meet more." A retired Burmese academic, who asked not to be identified, said the regime's snub was a sign the generals were not yet willing to cooperate with the UN after years of strained ties. "We can say it is the beginning of a new scenario: a new UN envoy, Aung San Suu Kyi free from house arrest, newly elected parties and candidates and so on, but the key player is missing," he said. "Without meetings with senior regime leaders, something tangible cannot be expected out of this visit."
— Reuters
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78-yr-old former cop held for threatening to kill Obama
New York, November 27 Michael Stephen Bowden told a nurse at a Veterans Affairs clinic in northwestern South Carolina that he was “was thinking of travelling to Washington, DC, to shoot the president because he was not doing enough to help African Americans,” according to a Secret Service affidavit as quoted by the local television channel WYFF. Bowden, according to WYFF, made the remarks to a nurse and when asked if he was suicidal, he said yes. When Secret Service Agents went to Bowden’s home on November 16, he did not deny making the allegations and told them “if I had the opportunity, I would shoot him (President Obama) myself”. “If I had the opportunity to get Obama against the wall and shoot him, I would”. After searching the house, the agents found three loaded semi-automatic handguns and a semi-automatic rifle near Bowden’s bed and a loaded short-barrel shotgun near the front door. Bowden was in the Navy for four years, served as a New York City policeman for three years and an NYC fire captain for more than 18 years, until he had a heart attack on the job and had to retire. Bowden’s son said, “It’s been a shock to the entire family. We had no idea that he had any type of suicidal thoughts”.
— PTI
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Suicide attack at Afghan police HQ kills 12
Kabul, November 27 The blasts occurred within 20 minutes of each other in Paktika province, said Gen Daud Andarabi, the spokesman for the regional police commander in southeastern Afghanistan. Nawab Waziry, the head of Paktika's provincial council, said both men wore police uniforms and made it through three security gates before reaching the main building on the police compound. One attacker detonated his explosives inside the police headquarters building, the other blew himself near the entrance, he said.
— AP
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DAMASCUS DIARY
Huge iron gates, strict security vigil and the picturesque Kasra Sha’ab or the People’s Palace, nestled in all this. With the Qassioun range overlooking the majestic official residence which is used to greet state heads and host state banquets, seemed the perfect setting for a warm reception President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma al-Assad extended to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and her husband Devisingh Shekhawat. The Patils’ limousine zipped down the long driveway to stop in the porch where the Syrian President and his wife received them warmly. Together, the two couples walked the red carpet before the two presidents went up a specially propped up red-carpet platform for the national anthems of the two countries. President Patil was given the guard of honour before they walked into the palace for a meeting. Looking very much the guy next door with his easy ways, President Assad paused briefly on his way up to the palace to mention the waiting Indian and Syrian media in a nearby enclosure to President Patil. While Patil nodded acknowledgement, Assad waved smilingly at the motley group much to the delight of the media. Translation lost
Faux pas happen just when you least expect them to and the address by the two president at the people’s palace was no exception. As soon as President Assad began his address in Arabic, Patil interrupted to say that the interpreting devices distributed to hear the translated version of the speech were not functioning. President Assad looked askance as his staff scurried to redress the complaint. He looked on helplessly, obviously embarrassed, as the sound system in the hall failed to respond. In the brief moments of discomfort, Assad went over to Patil and apologised for the goof-up. Ultimately, when nothing seemed to work, his staff informed him that there had been a technical snag and those instruments would not work. Following this, an interpreter read out the text in the two languages for the benefit of the audience.
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