Beijing, June 12
Edward Snowden, the whistleblower on American spy programme that targeted global internet traffic, today said he will fight any extradition attempts by the US and is reported to have "revealed" new information on Washington's snooping and cyber attacks on China.

"People who think I made a mistake in picking Hong Kong as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice. I am here to reveal criminality," 29-year-old Snowden told the South China Morning Post from a secret location.

"I'm neither traitor nor hero. I'm an American," the newspaper quoted him as saying. He vowed to fight any extradition attempt by the US government, saying, "My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate. I have been given no reason to doubt your system".

It is believed the US is pursuing a criminal investigation, but no extradition request has yet been filed.

Hong Kong has an extradition treaty with the US, although analysts say any attempts to bring Snowden to America may take months and could be blocked by Beijing.

His actions have been both praised and condemned globally, with some hailing him a hero while others a traitor.

Some senators have accused Snowden of treason and demanded his immediate extradition from Hong Kong over the sensational leaks. — PTI

Islamabad, June 12
Pakistan should fully implement the roadmap for normalising economic cooperation with India, including granting it the most favoured nation (MFN) -status, Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal said.

"The economic roadmap needs to be fully implemented for more trade and investment between the two neighbouring countries," he said at a farewell luncheon hosted for him yesterday by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Indian envoy referred to the joint statement issued after the seventh round of talks on commercial and economic cooperation between the Commerce Secretaries in September 2012 and said this laid out the roadmap for normalising and increasing economic ties.

In the joint statement, it was agreed that Pakistan would grant MFN-status to India by December 2012. India would thereafter bring down its SAFTA Sensitive List to 100 tariff lines at six-digit level by April.

Sabharwal, who served as the Indian envoy for four years, said New Delhi had implemented several decisions, including allowing investments from Pakistan and reducing the SAFTA tariff line.

After the formation of the new government in Islamabad, there are hopes that Pakistan would implement the roadmap for cooperation, he said. He welcomed PM Nawaz Sharif's remarks about trade with India and said similar sentiments prevailed across the border. — PTI

Istanbul, June 12
An uneasy calm returned to Istanbul's protest square today after running clashes between riot police and protesters, as Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed zero tolerance for the mass demos.

Hours earlier, the Taksim Square had resembled a battle scene, swathed in acrid smoke as the police dispersed tens of thousands of protesters chanting "Erdogan, resign!" and "Resistance!" on the worst night of violence in 12 days of nationwide unrest.

After riot police sent the large crowd scrambling with tear gas and jets of water, cat-and-mouse games with smaller groups of demonstrators continued into the night.

By 5:00 am, refuse trucks were clearing up the empty gas cannisters and the remains of broken barricades which had for more than a week blocked all access to the square and the Gezi Park. — AFP

Seoul, June 12
North Korea played hard to get today following the scrapping of high-level talks with South Korea, refusing to answer calls from Seoul on a recently restored inter-government hotline.

"We made an opening call at 9:00 am (local time)," the South's Unification Ministry said in a brief press statement. "But the North did not answer."

A North Korean delegation had been scheduled to cross the heavily militarised border on Wednesday morning and drive down to Seoul for two days of talks in the Grand Hilton Hotel.

They would have been the first high-level talks for six years, but were called off at the last minute on Tuesday evening because of a protocol row.

According to South Korea, the North had objected to Seoul's nomination of a vice minister as its chief delegate, saying it made a "mockery" of the proposed dialogue.

Pyongyang has yet to make any official statement on the cancellation of the talks.

Although no major breakthroughs were expected, the meeting in Seoul had been seen as an opportunity to improve relations after months of dangerously inflated military tensions and threats of nuclear war. — AFP

BRIEFLY

World's oldest man dies at 116 
Kyoto: The world’s oldest person in recorded history — 116-year-old Jiroemon Kimura — died of natural causes early on Wednesday in his hometown in western Japan, just days after the demise of a Chinese woman with a rival claim to the title. Born in Kyoto Prefecture on April 19, 1897, Kimura was recognised as the world’s oldest-living man by Guinness World Records in April 2011. He became the oldest living person in December 2012. Kimura became the longest living man on record on December 28 the same year when he was 115 years and 253 days old. — PTI

Austrian UN troops begin pullout from Golan Heights
Quneitra Crossing: Austrian troops in the UN monitoring force on the Golan Heights began withdrawing on Wednesday, days after Vienna decided to quit the mission over security concerns. A group of 20 soldiers entered the Israeli side of the strategic plateau through the Quneitra Crossing, the only direct passage between Israel and Syria, an AFP photographer said. About 50 other soldiers of the 378-strong Austrian contingent were to be withdrawn during the day, sources on the ground said. — AFP

A file photo of the Queen of Heaven jail in Rome. — Reuters

Mandela spends fifth day in hospital
Johannesburg: South Africa's ailing democracy icon Nelson Mandela remained in a "very serious but stable" condition at a hospital for a fifth day on Wednesday after being admitted for a recurring lung infection as President Jacob Zuma wished the anti-apartheid leader speedy recovery. Two of his daughters Makaziwe and Zindzi, and former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on Tuesday visited the hospital where the former president is admitted. — PTI

Indian twins jailed for managing brothel
Singapore: Two Indians, who are twin brothers, have been sentenced for three-and- a-half months for managing a brothel and helping their accomplices live on the earnings of six prostitutes. Raman and Lakashmanan Selvaraj were shocked on being jailed on Tuesday for they had expected a fine after pleading guilty on June 3, The Straits Times reported. — PTI

Sandy Avatar: An artist works on two characters of the ‘Avatar’ movie at the annual Sand Sculpture Festival in coastal town of Blankenberge, Belgium, on Wednesday. — AP/PTI

Italy to pay 1 lakh euros to jail inmates
ROME: The historic Regina Coeli or Queen of Heaven jail is crammed with prisoners in conditions which even senior officials say have made Italy's prisons a national disgrace. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in January that overcrowding in Italy's prisons violated basic rights, ordering the government to pay 1,00,000 euros to seven inmates who brought a test case and to fix the problem within a year. There are close to 67,000 prisoners in jails built for 45,000. — Reuters

Didn’t export military equipment to Pak: Israel
New delhi: Israel on Wednesday vehemently denied selling any military equipment to Pakistan, firmly stating that it would not do anything that could undermine India’s security. “The (Israel) Ministry of Defence will be liaising with the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the body responsible for export licensing, in order to receive the necessary clarifications regarding their official reports,’’ the Israel government said in a statement released by its embassy in New Delhi. — TNS