W O R L D

China detains 70 Tibetans for self-immolation bids
Beijing, February 7
Stepping up its crackdown against self-immolation protests in Tibet, China has detained 70 suspects for a string of suicides in November last year, coinciding with the once-in-a-decade leadership change in China’s ruling Communist Party.

A file photo of a Tibetan attempting self- immolation.

Dialogue window with China must stay open, says Japan PM
Tokyo, February 7
Japan's Prime Minister said today that the "window of dialogue" with China must remain open, even as he reiterated his rebuke to Beijing over a naval confrontation on the high seas.

A Russian Su27 fighter

Snow Fight: South Korean Marines and US Marines hurl snow during a joint winter drill in Pyeongchang, 180 km east of Seoul, on Thursday. — AFP

64 killed as Damascus rocked by fighting, shelling
Beirut, February 7
Rebel belts around Damascus were rocked by fighting and heavy shelling for a second day today as the army pressed a major offensive that a watchdog said killed 64 persons in 24 hours.

Qadri approaches Pak SC, seeks restructuring of EC
Islamabad, February 7
Fiery cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, who recently led a protest against the Pakistan government to push for electoral reforms, today approached the Supreme Court to seek the restructuring of the Election Commission.

Iran’s Khamenei rebuffs US offer of direct talks Dubai, February 7 Iran's highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, today slapped down an offer of direct talks made by US Vice-President Joe Biden this week, saying they would not solve the problem between them. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Thursday. — AFP

Kerry reiterates commitment to India-US ties
Washington, February 7
New US Secretary of State John Kerry has reaffirmed his commitment to continuing and strengthening the India-US Strategic Dialogue. Kerry, who was sworn in as the Secretary of State last on Friday replacing Hillary Clinton as the top American diplomat, reiterated his commitment to India-US ties during his introductory phone call to External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday.

26/11 plotter says he moves about like an ordinary person in Pak
New York, February 7
LeT chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, who has a $10 million US bounty on his head, has said that he moves about like an “ordinary person” in Pakistan and his fate is not in the hands of America. “I move about like an ordinary person, that’s my style,” he said in an interview to the New York Times.

China detains 70 Tibetans for self-immolation bids

Beijing, February 7
Stepping up its crackdown against self-immolation protests in Tibet, China has detained 70 suspects for a string of suicides in November last year, coinciding with the once-in-a-decade leadership change in China’s ruling Communist Party.

A total of 70 persons have been detained by the police in Huangnan of northwest China’s Qinghai Province in connection with a string of self-immolations that have occurred since November 2012, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a senior police officer as saying today.

Lyu Benqian, deputy chief of the Qinghai Provincial Public Security Department, said 12 of the suspects were officially arrested over the self-immolation cases in the Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

The self-immolation cases were influenced by the separatism of the Dalai Lama clique, as the Dalai Lama has prayed for self-immolators and Tibetan separatists overseas flaunt them as “heroes”, he said.

There was a big spurt in self-immolations with 23 such cases reported in November last year, the highest in one month apparently to coincide with the 18th Party Congress to elect a new leadership.

About 95 to 100 Tibetans have so far committed suicide in the recent months protesting Chinese rule in Tibet and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile in India.

So far, China has convicted seven persons, including a Buddhist monk who was given a two-year suspended death sentence.

“Some of the victims (of self-immolation) were frustrated and pessimistic in life, and they wanted to earn respect by self-immolation,” Lyu said while analysing the motive for the action. — PTI

Free Tibet

• There is a spurt in self-immolations with 23 such cases reported in November last year, the highest in one month
• About 95 to 100 Tibetans have committed suicide in the recent months protesting Chinese rule in Tibet and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile in India
• So far, China has convicted seven persons, including a Buddhist monk who was given a two-year suspended death sentence

Dialogue window with China must stay open, says Japan PM

Tokyo, February 7
Japan's Prime Minister said today that the "window of dialogue" with China must remain open, even as he reiterated his rebuke to Beijing over a naval confrontation on the high seas.

Shinzo Abe said an incident in which a Chinese frigate locked its weapons-targeting radar on a Japanese warship was "extremely regrettable", as tension grows over the sovereignty of islands in the East China Sea.

"But we will not close the window of dialogue. This is most important," Abe said. "I would like China to return to a more open attitude towards our strategic partnership." Abe yesterday had described the Chinese action as "dangerous" and "provocative".

Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told Parliament that the Chinese radar lock amounted to a "threat of force" but he called for some mechanism to allow the defence authorities to communicate with each other.

"We think this is a threat of force, as defined in the UN Charter," Onodera said.

"But what is most important is to prevent incidents like this from recurring in the future," he said. "I also think it is necessary for Japan and China to have a means of consultation on maritime safety issues."

The radar incident, which Japan said happened last month, marked the first time the two nations' navies have locked horns in a dispute that has some commentators warning about a possible armed conflict.

The situation has been tense for months in the East China Sea, where Asia's two largest economies are at loggerheads over the sovereignty of an uninhabited island chain, called the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China.

Beijing has repeatedly sent ships to the area since Japan nationalised some islands in the chain in September. The nationalisation move triggered a diplomatic dispute and huge anti-Japan demonstrations across China.

In Washington, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta yesterday urged China to avoid confrontation and seek peaceful dialogue with Japan and other countries over territorial disputes. — AFP

Russia intruded air space: Tokyo

Russian fighter jets briefly entered Japan's air space near the disputed islands and the northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday, prompting Japan to scramble combat fighters and lodge a protest, Japan's Foreign Ministry said. Russia, which is currently holding military manoeuvres around the disputed Kurile islands, denied any such intrusion took place. — Reuters

64 killed as Damascus rocked by fighting, shelling

Beirut, February 7
Rebel belts around Damascus were rocked by fighting and heavy shelling for a second day today as the army pressed a major offensive that a watchdog said killed 64 persons in 24 hours.

Among those killed were five civilians, three of them women, who died when mortars slammed into the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in the south of the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The watchdog and a Syrian security official had yesterday reported the launch by President Bashar al-Assad's forces of a fierce offensive on rebel belts on the outskirts of Damascus, while residents reported the heaviest bombardments in months.

The Observatory reported today that 21 civilians, 32 rebels and 11 soldiers have been killed since the launch of the offensive, which is focused in the southern and eastern outskirts of the capital.

It said rebels yesterday attacked a security checkpoint between the north-east Qaboon district and Abassid Square near the centre of the capital, sparking fierce fighting.

Pro-regime daily Al-Watan reported today that "terrorists in Jobar (east) who attacked army checkpoints perished at the gates of Damascus on the perimeter of Abassid Square. They could not advance". The paper said the army "destroyed the proponents of the 'epic' battle for Damascus", referring to a rebel offensive on the capital.

"The army is determined to crush terrorism around the capital and big cities. Over the past several days, it has launched a qualitative operation and killed many terrorists who dreamt of attacking and entering Damascus," the paper said. — AFP

Qadri approaches Pak SC, seeks restructuring of EC

Islamabad, February 7
Fiery cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, who recently led a protest against the Pakistan government to push for electoral reforms, today approached the Supreme Court to seek the restructuring of the Election Commission.

Talking to reporters after filing a petition on the issue, Qadri said his stance was based on constitutional provisions which stated that the Election Commission could be reconstituted. According to the Constitution, he said, the poll panel would consist of five members, and the names of 15 candidates should be presented before Parliament for appointing these members. — PTI

Iran’s Khamenei rebuffs US offer of direct talks

Dubai, February 7
Iran's highest authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, today slapped down an offer of direct talks made by US Vice-President Joe Biden this week, saying they would not solve the problem between them.

"Some naive people like the idea of negotiating with America. Negotiations will not solve the problem," Khamenei said in a speech to officials and members of Iran's air force carried on his website.

"If some people want American rule to be established again in Iran, the nation will rise up to face them," he said. "American policy in the Middle East has been destroyed and Americans now need to play a new card. That card is dragging Iran into negotiations." Khamenei made his comments days after Biden said the United States was prepared to meet bilaterally with the Iranian leadership. "That offer stands but it must be real and tangible," Biden said in a speech in Munich.

With traditional fiery rhetoric, Khamenei lambasted Biden's offer, saying that since the 1979 revolution the United States had gravely insulted Iran and continued to do so with its threat of military action.

"You take up arms against the nation of Iran and say: 'negotiate or we fire'. But you should know that pressure and negotiations are not compatible and our nation will not be intimidated by these actions," Khamenei said. — Reuters

Kerry reiterates commitment to India-US ties

Washington, February 7
New US Secretary of State John Kerry has reaffirmed his commitment to continuing and strengthening the India-US Strategic Dialogue. Kerry, who was sworn in as the Secretary of State last on Friday replacing Hillary Clinton as the top American diplomat, reiterated his commitment to India-US ties during his introductory phone call to External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday.

“Both the Secretary (of State) and Minister Khurshid underscored the vital importance of our bilateral relationship, the US-Indian relationship, and cooperating closely not only on bilateral issues but on regional issues and on global issues that we work on together,” the State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told reporters at her daily news conference yesterday. “They also both expressed their commitment to continuing and strengthening the US-India Strategic Dialogue mechanism.

This is our regular mechanism of bringing officials across our two governments together every year,” she said.

“The secretary also took the opportunity to thank Minister Khurshid for India’s continued assistance to Afghanistan and affirmed our desire to continue collaborating with India on regional issues,” Nuland said.

Kerry over the last 48 hours, also spoke over telephone with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, the NATO Secretary-General and the Russian Foreign Minister. — PTI

26/11 plotter says he moves about like an ordinary person in Pak

New York, February 7
LeT chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, who has a $10 million US bounty on his head, has said that he moves about like an “ordinary person” in Pakistan and his fate is not in the hands of America. “I move about like an ordinary person, that’s my style,” he said in an interview to the New York Times.

“My fate is in the hands of God, not America,” said 64-year-old Saeed, whose compound in Lahore is a “fortified house, office and mosque”.

The New York Times report said Saeed was shielded not only by his supporters who wield “Kalashnikovs” outside his door but also by the Pakistani state.

Saeed, who has been addressing large public meetings and made prime-time television appearances, said he was now talking to Western news media outlets to correct “misperceptions”.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba chief claimed his name had been cleared by the Pakistani courts. “Why does the US not respect our judicial system?” Saeed said, adding that he has nothing against Americans.

He recalled a visit he made to the US in 1994, during which he spoke at Islamic centres in Houston, Chicago and Boston. “At that time, I liked it,” Saeed said.

The report said Saeed’s freedom to roam around Lahore and across Pakistan “suggests some generals still believe the good jihadis are worth having around”.

According to the report, western intelligence officials say Lashkar’s training camps, where LeT operative David Headley received training, in northern Pakistan have not been shut down.

Headley was sentenced to 35 years in prison by a Chicago court last month for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks that claimed 166 lives. — PTI