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21 killed in residential complex blast in Russia US frees 23 Afghan, 3 Pak detainees
Five killed
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21 killed in residential complex blast in Russia Moscow, March 16 Most of the residents were sleeping when the blast occurred at 3.25 am (5.55 IST) resulting in the collapse of a portion of the pre-fabricated apartment building in Arkhangelisk city, about 960 km north of Moscow. Twenty-three
survivors were rescued from under the rubble, reports here said. “There could be 50 more survivors under the debris of the building,” Russia’s Emergency Situations Deputy Minister Gen Yuri Vorobiyov told ‘Rossia’ TV network before flying to Arkhangelsk with a team of 76 rescuers and sniffer dogs. The building “collapsed like a house of cards and there still could be many survivors under the debris,” a rescue official told the NTV, as a couple was rescued after five-hour efforts. There were 45 apartments in the destroyed section with 80 residents. Meanwhile, the local prosecutor has launched a case of criminal negligence resulting in loss of human lives and property pointing to the gas leak as the main cause of the blast. Some believe a terror hand behind the blast as most of the residents were the families of police personnel, many of whom have been on Chechnya duty, the NTV said. However, according to the RBC business channel, FSB security service experts have so far not found traces of explosive materials.
— PTI |
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US frees 23 Afghan, 3 Pak detainees Twenty-three Afghans and three Pakistani detainees have been released from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the US Department of Defence announced on Monday. The decision to transfer or release a detainee is based on many factors, including whether the detainee is of further intelligence value to the US and whether he is believed to pose a threat to it. “There is a process to review the status of detainees,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “We decide about the detention and release of a detainee based on the information and evidence we have at the time. The circumstances in which detainees are apprehended can be ambiguous, and many of them are highly skilled in concealing the truth.” The process of evaluation and detention was not free of risk, the department said, noting that at least one detainee had gone back “to the fight”. Human rights groups have long been critical of the US military’s practice of holding prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. They say detainees are denied due process and that the US is breaking not only international law but is also acting in ways that violate its own Constitution. Currently, 119 detainees have been released and 12 others have been transferred for continued detention (four to the Saudi Arabian Government, one to the Spanish Government and seven to the Russian Government). As a result of Monday’s release, there are approximately 610 detainees at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay. “During the course of the war on terrorism, the department expects there will be other transfers or releases of detainees,” the Pentagon statement said citing “operational and security considerations” for its inability to provide further details. Pakistan’s support in the US-led war on terror has come under close scrutiny in the past few weeks. Last week, news agencies quoted US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as telling the Far Eastern Economic Review that, “The (Pakistani) military is cooperating with (the US in getting) the Al-Qaida, but it’s not cooperating in getting the Taliban.” “There is a widespread belief in Pakistan that the Americans want the Al-Qaida, but Pakistan continues to turn a blind eye to support the Taliban,” Mr Wolfowitz was reported to have said. Hours after newsrooms across Washington had been abuzz with speculation over why Mr Wolfowitz was “freelancing” and “straying from the official White House line,” the Far Eastern Economic Review issued a hasty correction. The magazine’s editor said Mr Wolfowitz had been “inaccurately quoted in some instances” in the article “Testing Time for Pakistan” in the Review’s March 18 issue. On the topic of the Pakistan military’s cooperation with the US in fighting the Taliban, Mr Wolfowitz said, “There is greater cooperation, but it continues to be a bit of an issue. One of the ways they (Pakistan) slice it is to cooperate regarding the Al- Qaida. It’s increasingly clear that we’re not about to give up on the Taliban. We have a long commitment to Afghanistan.” Mr Wolfowitz said Washington was likely to increase its demands on Islamabad in return for downplaying a scandal when Pakistani physicist Abdul Qadeer Khan was pardoned after admitting to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea. “We feel it gives us more leverage. I think it may give General Musharraf a somewhat stronger hand in Pakistan. He’s got an act to clean up. The international community is prepared to accept his pardon of A.Q. Khan for all he’s done, but in return for that, there has to be a full accounting of everything that’s happened.” “We have a government that can’t deliver everything we would like to see and it would like to see, and we don’t have the ability to simply say if you don’t do (this) we will cut off our whole relationship with you and let you go under,” said the number two official at the Pentagon. |
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Five killed
in Pakistan clash Wana, Pakistan, March 16 Heavy exchanges of gunfire erupted at dawn from an area where some of the wanted tribesmen were believed to be hiding, said residents. The clash came a day before US Secretary of State Colin Powell was due to visit Pakistan. As he flew to India on Monday, Mr Powell urged Pakistan to ramp up its military activities near the Afghan border.
— Reuters |
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FBI informant takes the stand Vancouver, March 16 The line of questioning put to the witness indicated the defence might call his friends, two of whom live in India, to confirm the claims, Toronto Star reported yesterday. Defence lawyer Richard Peck asked the witness if he told Ajaib Singh Bagri’s brother that he had been forced to give false statements in order to get immigration help for his family. He suggested the witness proposed a deal to the Bagris, saying he would deny his evidence in return for ancestral land or money to go establish himself and his family in Uttar Pradesh. “I have never done this, these are all false statements my lord,” the witness, whose name is protected, told the judge. Peck alleged the conversations, which further pick apart the credibility of the former FBI informant on Sikh terrorism, took place in 2001 during a visit to the small Indian village where he grew up with Bagri. He suggested the witness told a friend the statements he gave the police were false and motivated by an old grudge. “Did you tell him the evidence you gave was false because he used to speak against you and tell people from your village now living in the USA that you drank alcohol?” “No, I did not,” the witness said. Peck took him back to a conversation with a village friend in the week before Bagri and his co-accused Ripudaman Singh Malik was arrested. “Did you tell him you had heard from the FBI that charges were going to be laid soon? Did you tell him Bagri should flee so he doesn’t get charged?” “No”, he said.
— PTI |
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Amitabh ready for Hollywood role Singapore, March 16 “If such an opportunity were to come my way, I’d be happy to do it,” Bachchan said. The 61-year-old Bachchan said he had turned down previous Hollywood offers because they were limited to stereotypical roles such as a Maharaja, a Hindu beggar or a turban-wearing soldier. “The offers have not been entirely satisfactory to me creatively, so I have not done them,” said the star. Bachchan spoke during an interview in Singapore where he was promoting the International Indian Film Academy (IFFA)awards, which will take place in the Southeast Asian city-state on May 22. Bachchan said most Hollywood directors were unaware of the acting talent in India, but he said he was heartened that more people were being exposed to Indian cinema thanks to a recent string of breakthrough hits. “I’m sure that with the success of films like ‘monsoon Wedding’ and ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ and a few others this trend will catch on,” he said. Bachchan said his friends in Hollywood included “Elizabeth” director Shekhar Kapur, Oliver Stone and Ridley Scott.
— AP |
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Moscow, March 16
After years of rejecting Hollywood’s approaches, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he is ready to act in an
English movie.
“If such an opportunity were to come my way, I’d be happy to do it,” Bachchan said.
The 61-year-old Bachchan said he had turned down previous
Hollywood offers because they were limited to stereotypical
roles such as a Maharaja, a Hindu beggar or a turban-wearing
soldier.
