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Lanka dismisses film on death of Prabhakaran’s
son
Quetta blast: PM orders ‘targeted operation’, four militants killed
Diamonds worth $50 m stolen from Brussels airport
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Yemeni warplane crashes in Sanaa; 11 killed
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Lanka dismisses film on death of Prabhakaran’s son Colombo, February 19 The Channel 4 documentary titled 'No War Zone - the killing fields of Sri Lanka' is to be aired in Geneva at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March. The pictures have once again raised questions over the conduct of Sri Lankan armed forces during the final stages of the operation against Tamil Tiger rebels and is another blow for the government in its attempts to head off a critical resolution at the UN Human Rights Council. One of the photos shows Balachandran Prabhakaran sitting in a bunker, alive and unharmed in the custody of Sri Lankan troops. Another picture which was taken a few hours later shows the boy's body lying on the ground, his chest pierced by bullets. The Sri Lankan army today dismissed as "lies, half truths, rumours and numerous forms of speculation" the pictures featured in Commenting on the pictures, military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said, "This is not the first time such unsubstantiated allegations are levelled against the Sri Lankan forces. Interestingly, these come up as we near the UNHRC meeting and die down thereafter." "No substantive evidence have been presented for us to launch an investigation," he said. "Unfortunately, it appears that the parties who float such baseless allegations never want these to be investigated or solved. They want to keep them as mysteries in order to tarnish the country's good image as and when it suits their agendas." The documentary aims to test India over its next move in the UNHRC resolution against Sri Lanka, Channel 4's documentary director Callum Macrae said. India had voted against Sri Lanka at last year's resolution. "The new evidence in the film is certain to increase pressure on the Indian government not only to support a resolution on Sri Lanka and accountability but also to ensure that it is robustly worded, and that it outlines an effective plan for international action to end impunity in Sri Lanka," Macrae said. — PTI body of ‘lies’
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Quetta blast: PM orders ‘targeted operation’, four militants killed
Pakistan on Tuesday ordered a "targeted operation" against militants in Quetta after nearly 90 persons died in a terror attack last week in a Shia area in the restive south-western city, as security forces killed four members of a banned outfit responsible for the bombing and arrested around 170 suspects.
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf "has ordered an immediate launch of targeted operation aimed at eliminating those responsible for playing with the lives of innocent civilians and restoring peace and security in Quetta," said a spokesman for the premier's office. Ashraf "is closely monitoring the situation in Quetta and is in constant touch with the authorities concerned," the spokesman said without giving details. The Geo TV channel reported that law enforcement agencies and security forces had been given 36 hours to conduct the operation against militant groups responsible for targeting Shias in Quetta. Last night, four members of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi were killed and seven others arrested during an operation conducted by security forces in Quetta in the wake of the recent attack. Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani confirmed that four armed members of a banned group were killed and seven others arrested, after an exchange of fire with Frontier Corps personnel in the Killi Qambrani area of Quetta, the provincial capital, late on Monday night. Though Durrani did not name the group, sources said the security forces clashed with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which had claimed responsibility for Saturday's bomb attack in a Shia-dominated area of Quetta that killed 89 persons and injured about 200 others. The Supreme Court on Tuesday began suo motu proceedings in the Quetta massacre and lamented that dead bodies of 91 men, women and children remained unburied for past three days as the protesters in Quetta refused to allow their burial until the army takes control over of the city and arrests perpetrators of the heinous crime. The government hinted at convening joint session of both houses of Parliament to discuss the massacre amid walkouts by the MQM and the PML-N to mark their protest.
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Diamonds worth $50 m stolen from Brussels airport
Brussels, February 19 Yesterday night robbery at the Zaventem airport just before 8.00 pm (1900 GMT) was "one of the biggest" ever, said a spokeswoman for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the global dealers' syndicate. The Brussels raid saw a gang of eight hooded thieves pull up on the runway in two black vehicles with blue police-like markings, Brussels prosecutors' spokeswoman Anja Bijnens told a press conference. They forced their way through security barriers and sped towards a Swiss passenger aircraft about to take off, forcing open the cargo hold to reach gems — rough and cut — that had already been loaded, she said. Bijnens said the thieves were wearing police uniforms and carrying machine guns, adding: "They wanted to pass themselves off as cops." They seized at least 120 packages, which was only part of the shipment, she said. —
AFP
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Yemeni warplane crashes in Sanaa; 11 killed Sanaa, February 19 Pictures of the crash on social media sites showed one body near the burning wreckage of the aircraft. Several cars were on fire and debris littered the street. A security official said without elaborating that the pilot had ejected from the plane. A military official said the aircraft was a Russian SU-22 fighter ground attack aircraft. Yemen has 30 SU-22 and four SU-22UM3 warplanes in an air force with 79 capable aircraft in all, according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies' 2012 Military Balance reference book. —
Reuters
Rocket attack on Aleppo kills 23 Beirut: As many as 10 children were among 23 persons killed in an apparent surface-to-surface missile strike on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, a monitoring group said on Tuesday. "It is likely a surface-to-surface missile strike" hit Jabal Badro on the edge of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. —AFP
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World's biggest food firms embroiled in horsemeat scandal Quake rocks south-west China, 4 hurt Kate ‘shop-window mannequin’: Author 3 dead in California shooting spree |
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Colombo, February 19
A Yemeni air force plane crashed in the centre of the capital Sanaa on Tuesday, killing at least 11 persons and wounding 15 others, security sources said.
The Ministry of Defence said in a text message that the plane had been on a training flight when it came down in a western residential district.
Karachi: Thousands of Shia community members on Tuesday called off their protest and agreed to bury the dead after Pakistani security forces launched an operation against extremists responsible for targeting the minority sect and detained 170 suspects. Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen deputy chief Allama Amin
Shaheedi, a top Shia leader, announced the end of the protest in
Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, after talks with a parliamentary delegation led by Information Minister Qamar Zaman
Kaira.
