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Explosion near US
headquarters 48 coal miners
killed in blast
Turkish Kurds bid
adieu to arms Pakistanis
welcome to J&K: Sayeed
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Kanishka trial:
witness breaks down in court Chandrika’s
offer to PM Nepal’s Maoist
kill general
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Explosion near US headquarters
Baghdad, November 15 The blast happened around 7.05 pm and shook doors and windows in the centre of the city. This comes close on the heels of a bomb attack on a convoy in which a US soldier was killed and two others wounded in central Baghdad on Friday. Washington: US President George W. Bush has said that there would be no pulling out of American troops from Iraq until Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are found and democracy is established. “In terms of security we will do whatever it takes... we will stay there until the job is done and then we will leave... and the job is for Iraq to be free and peaceful,” Bush was quoted as saying on CNN network. “We will find Saddam Hussein...the goal for a free and peaceful Iraq and by being strong and determined we will achieve that objective.” Bush said that one of the aims was to begin transferring power back to the Iraqi people but “even bigger is a free and democratic society.” “Their democracy won’t be western. We don’t expect them to look like America. We expect the governments to be modern, however, and that includes, well, women’s rights, and including women into the future of their societies.” Bush met Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi two days after 18 Italians were killed in southern Iraq in a suicide bombing that caused Italy’s worst military losses since World War II. Bush yesterday reacted to concerns from Democratic and Republican lawmakers that the administration’s shift in strategy to speed up the transfer of authority to Iraqis could lead to a premature withdrawal of US forces and leave the country open to more guerrilla attacks and thwart the budding democratic movement.
— PTI, AFP, Reuters |
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48 coal miners killed in blast Hong Kong, November 15 A few details about the accident, which occurred yesterday, have been released, although all the bodies have been recovered, according to the Hong Kong edition of China Daily. The Jianxin mine, owned by the Fengcheng Coal Mine Bureau, is one of the largest in China, producing 600,000 tonnes of coal a year. The latest statistics from the State Administration of Workplace Safety, China’s top safety watchdog, show 1,997 people have been killed in 114 serious industrial accidents so far this year, a large proportion in mining disasters.
— DPA |
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Turkish Kurds bid adieu to arms Cairo, November 15 To emphasise the change, party member Al-Zubair Idar said the congress was changing its name to The People’s Congress of Kurdistan (PCK) “which will look out for the welfare of the Kurdish people”. At a news conference in northern Iraq, Idar said the PCK renounced all forms of violence and rejected any separation from Turkey. Describing the change as “historic”, Idar said he hoped the Turks would take the announcement into consideration. He also urged the US to mediate with Turkey to “consider opening a new page” with them. “We are a new organisation”, Idar stressed. Observers said the announcement was significant as the PCK rejected links with the PKK, which Turkey considers a terrorist organisation.
— DPA |
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Pakistanis welcome to J&K: Sayeed
London, November 15 “We are not captive of security forces, but a free people. Let there be regular flow of people visiting Kashmir from Pakistan, as we have nothing to hide. “In fact, they would see with their own eyes the flowering democracy in Kashmir,” Sayeed said in reply to questions of Pakistani journalists after delivering a lecture on “A new future for Kashmir — Prospects, Renewal and Growth.” Sayeed said he had asked Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to encourage Pakistanis to visit Kashmir, which would help change their mindset. “Our people would also see what is the state of affairs across the border and will know once and for all ‘pardey key peechhe kaya hai’ (what is behind the veil),” Sayeed said. The Chief Minister said it was with this mindset that he had been advocating opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road. The lecture was organised by the Royal Institute of International Affairs under the Asia Programme at the prestigious Chatham House here in which, besides others, expatriate Kashmiris from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and officials of the Pakistan High Commission participated. He said the feedback received from the visits of Jammu and Kashmir’s three MPs to Pakistan showed that the Pakistani leadership would not be able to contain people’s yearning for better ties between the two nations. On Indo-Pak dialogue, the Chief Minister said it had to be unconditional and different separatist groups should explore possibilities of an amicable solution to the problem. Meanwhile, in a bid to give fillip to economic activities in Jammu and Kashmir, the state’s newly established Economic Renewal Initiative Group (JKERIG), comprising some leading expatriate Kashmiris in the UK, has decided to set up a joint British-Kashmir Business Council. This was decided at the end of a two-hour meeting yesterday here between Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and members of the JKERIG. The group is the brainchild of a member of Commonwealth organisation and leading NRI Mohan Koul and it has offered private initiative to help the people of the state and sought government’s role as a facilitator. After detailed discussions, sectors like education, hydroelectric projects, information technology and health were identified for the private initiative.
— PTI |
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Kanishka trial: witness breaks down in court
Vancouver, November 15 The woman sobbed yesterday as she recounted that on the day she returned to work to be fired by her boss Malik, a man she said she loved, the police slipped a microphone into her purse. Malik called her one Saturday to tell her not to come back to work at his daycare centre. She insisted on receiving her dismissal in writing and planned to return to work on Monday to receive it. After Malik’s call, she said she phoned a Canadian intelligence agent she had spoken to before. A police officer was also notified. The witness, who cannot be identified under court order, testified that the police did not like the idea of her arriving alone and worried for her safety. They put the microphone in her purse and told her to stand by the window while talking to Malik. The woman earlier testified that she and Malik were in love with each other, but the relationship soured after Malik twice confessed to being involved in two explosions that killed 331 persons and brought down an Air India plane in 1985. The witness also maintained that she never worked as a spy, even though Malik and his associates came to believe she was one and that she was taping their conversations. The woman said she contacted intelligence only because she hoped that they could help her clear her name. But Malik’s lawyer David Crossin, has repeatedly suggested that she willingly worked with the intelligence and the police to bring Malik down. Meanwhile, the British Columbia government has agreed to pay half of future legal bills for Malik, but only as a loan until after his trial for mass murder, Attorney-General Geoff Plant was quoted as saying by “National Post”. Malik, who shared a $ 12-million fortune with his wife when he was arrested, claimed last summer to be broke. Malik will also lose four of his 11 lawyers. The rest of the team has agreed to stay on the job until the end of the trial.
— PTI |
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Chandrika’s offer to PM Colombo, November 15 “The president is willing to involve the Prime Minister in all such defence matters that can have a direct impact on the cease-fire and the peace process,” said Mano Tittawella, President’s top adviser. There was no immediate comment from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on the offer.
— AP |
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Nepal’s Maoist kill general Kathmandu, November 15 |
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