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Red Cross visits Saddam Kurds reject US-drafted
Constitution Sikhs protest against French ban Young Sikhs demonstrate against the French government's planned ban on students wearing headscarves and all other overt religious symbols in state schools,
near the French Embassy in
London on Saturday. — Reuters photo UN plans Syria, Israel peace talks |
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10 Maoists killed in encounters 3 blasts in Pak, 5 injured Cause of Columbia tragedy found
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Red Cross visits Saddam Baghdad, February 21 “Two ICRC representatives, including a doctor, visited Saddam Hussein today in Iraq and were able to stay with him long enough for a physical and mental evaluation,” Nada Dumani said from the Jordanian capital Amman. “In accordance with its rules, the ICRC is unable to give any indication about the condition of Saddam Hussein. The ICRC, following this visit, as in the case of all (Iraqi) prisoners, will report directly to the (US-led) coalition,” she added. US forces captured the former dictator on December 13 hiding in a hole on a farm in a village close to his hometown of Tikrit, north of Baghdad. The US authorities formally gave the ICRC the green light to visit Saddam last Saturday. The US formally accepted on January 9 that Saddam was a prisoner of war, angering the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, which was demanding he stand trial in Iraq for crimes against humanity. The ICRC oversees the Third Geneva Convention, an internationally-recognised and binding set of rules which guarantee minimum standards of treatment for prisoners of war and detainees, including the right to visits from its aid workers. It forbids physical or mental torture, or “any other form of coercion... to secure from them any kind of information whatever”.
— AFP |
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Kurds reject US-drafted
Constitution Washington, February 21 The Kurds insist on far broader autonomy, including the right to control military forces in Kurdish areas and the freedom to reject laws passed by the national government, the Washington Post reported. Kurds are a non-Arab people who have been struggling for independence or autonomy in all states in which they live, including Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. They were promised independence by the Allies during World War II but, after winning the war, they promptly betrayed the Kurds. Since then they have been struggling for freedom, first in Iraq and then in Turkey.
— PTI |
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Iraqi killed, 4
US troops hurt in ambush Baghdad, February 21 “Four US soldiers were wounded and their Iraqi translator was killed in a small arms fire ambush, 22 km south of Iskandariya (near Baghdad). A guerrilla campaign of bombings and shootings has killed 378 American soldiers since the war that toppled Saddam Hussein began in March.
— Reuters |
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Sikhs protest against French ban
London, February 21 The huge protest was a show of solidarity with the French Sikhs. Among those protesting were Sikh veterans of World War II who fought for France wearing turbans. The demonstration was jointly organised by the Akhand Kirtani Jatha (AKJ), UK and the British Sikh Council. Mr Jagroop Singh of the AKJ said Labour MPs John McDonnell, Bob Ainsworth, and Fiona MacTaggart were expected to join the protest. He said Sikhs were not reassured by a recent statement from French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin, saying a “satisfactory” solution would be found for the Sikh community. “Sikhs find it difficult to understand how this solution will be satisfactory, given that he also stated any solution would be within the constraints of the new law,” he said.
— UNI |
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UN plans Syria, Israel peace talks London, February 21 A multilateral approach, including the USA and France, would seek to resolve the decades-old issue of Israel’s presence on the Golan Heights, which was Syrian territory until the Six Day War in 1967. The Financial Times cited unnamed western diplomats as sources for its story. Syrian Vice-President Abdul Halim Khaddam earlier in the week told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper that his country had sent messages to Israel and the USA on restarting the talks through a Turkish intermediary. According to the Financial Times, France would be brought into the talks because of that country’s strong ties with Damascus. Statements made in November by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on his country’s willingness to resume a dialogue with Israel initially were rebuffed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. More recently, Israeli President Moshe Katsav extended an invitation to Mr at Assad to come to Jerusalem, which was rejected by the Syrians. The USA had acted unilaterally against Syria through passage late last year of the Syria Accountability Act by the Congress. The legislation allowed sanctions against Syria, and had been buttressed by remarks by Secretary of State Colin Powell that Syria was being less than forthright with regard to suspected programmes for production of weapons of mass destruction.
— DPA |
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10 Maoists killed in encounters Kathmandu, February 21 The security forces gunned down seven Maoists during a clash in Bankatwa village in Banke district, they said, adding the gunfight began when rebels tried to hurl socket bombs at a security force patrol. In a separate operation, two rebels were killed at Sundarpur Ashoktol of Mahottari district, defence officials said. One of the three Maoists injured in retaliatory action by the security forces near Sekuwa bridge of Taplejung district on February 8, died to his injuries, they said. Separately, at least 10 armed Maoists surrendered to the army in the eastern Dhankuta and Pachthar districts yesterday, ‘The Rising Sun’ daily quoted Home Ministry sources as saying. The Maoist section commander Gagan Bahadur Bharati handed over rifles to the local administration which awarded him Rs 54,000 for handing over arms as per the government’s announcement in December, the daily said. Meanwhile, three children were wounded when a bomb left by the Maoists went off at Rakam village in Surkhet district, National News Agency (RSS) reported. In Sieraha district, the local administration released five persons, placed under house arrest for their alleged involvement in terror activities.
— PTI |
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3 blasts in Pak, 5 injured Islamabad, February 21 All five of those hurt were customers at a video store in Jhalka, about 350 km northeast of Islamabad, said local official Iftikhar Khan. None of the injuries were serious from the blast, which occurred late yesterday. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, in neighbouring Baluchistan province, two other bombs exploded in a residential neighbourhood yesterday, said local police official Aziz Ullah. No one was hurt and no group claimed responsibility for either blast.
— AP |
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Cause of Columbia tragedy found Cape Canaveral, February 21 NASA’s top spaceflight official, Bill Readdy, said yesterday that through extensive testing, the agency had learnt that air or liquefied nitrogen almost certainly seeped into a crack or void in the foam, or collected around bolts and nuts beneath the foam. The trapped air or nitrogen expanded as the shuttle rose, and blew off a chunk of foam the size of a suitcase. Rather than peeling off, the foam was pushed off with explosive force, Mr Readdy said. The space agency also had assumed the foam would fall down along the tank and miss the shuttle, but in reality, the falling foam shot toward Columbia and the left wing rammed into it, resulting in a large fatal gash. In all likelihood, faulty application of the foam created air pockets, Readdy said.
— AP |
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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
visited deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in US custody today, an
ICRC spokeswoman said. “Two ICRC representatives, including a doctor,
visited Saddam Hussein today in Iraq and were able to stay with him long
enough for a physical and mental evaluation,” Nada Dumani said from
the Jordanian capital Amman.
London, February 21
