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Blast in Australian Embassy; 8 killed
Clashes in Iraq leave 29 dead
70 militants killed in Pak air raids
Seven hanged in Iran
IAF will train with Israelis, says Krishnaswamy
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Indian’s child born in Australia not citizen
1m commit suicide each year: WHO
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Blast in Australian Embassy; 8 killed
Jakarta, September 9 The police immediately blamed Jemaah Islamiyah, the South-east Asian terror network that is linked to Al-Qaida. The group has been accused in several deadly bombings, including the bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in the same neighbourhood last year, in which 12 persons were killed. No one inside the heavily fortified Embassy was hurt, said Mr Lyndall Sachs, a spokeswoman for the Australian Foreign Ministry in Canberra. The bombing flattened the mission’s gate, mangled cars and motorbikes on the street and shattered scores of windows in nearby high-rise buildings. “Initial investigations show this was a car bomb. We do not know whether anyone was in the car,” the police chief General Dai Bachtiar said. The Health Ministry said eight persons had died and 161 were wounded. Three of the dead were policemen guarding the building, police said. Mr Bachtiar said the bombing bore the hallmark of Jemaah Islamiyah. “The modus operandi is very similar to other attacks, including the Bali bombings and the Marriott blast” he said. “We can conclude (the perpetrators) are the same group” The Embassy is located on Rasuna Said street, the main thoroughfare in Kuningan district housing foreign embassies, businesses and shopping malls. Bloody corpses and severed human remains were strewn across the street. The blast left bloody corpses and severed human remains strewn across the busy commercial street. Dazed survivors desperately tried to locate colleagues and missing family members in the minutes after the blast. “I can’t find my family,” said Suharti, who had eight relatives working in the heavily guarded mission. “I am terrified. I don’t know where they are,” she said, clutching the arm of a reporter. Many of the wounded were carried to the nearby Metropolitan Medical Center, which itself had dozens of windows blown out by the explosion. The bombing flattened the gate of the embassy, mangled cars and motorbikes on the street and shattered hundreds of windows in high-rise buildings overlooking it. Survivors and passers-by witnessed grisly scenes as security officers covered the bodies of victims ripped apart by the blast with newspapers. A severed human leg lay on the intersection between the two lanes of the street, its trousers torn off the by force of the explosion. The explosion shook buildings across a large part of the central commercial district of the city of 12 million people. A thick plume of white smoke rose up above the embassy.
— AP |
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Clashes in Iraq leave 29 dead
Baghdad, September 9 In a fresh overnight assault by combined US and Iraqi forces in Tall Afar in northern Iraq, 17 persons died and at least 50 were wounded, while a US air raid on Fallujah city killed 12 persons, including women and children, and left nine wounded, witnesses said. The US military had confirmed both military assaults. The assault on Tall Afar, 390 km north of Baghdad, was launched to force insurgents out of the town and "restore control of Tall Afar to legitimatise Iraqi government officials" the US military said. Clashes between US forces and insurgents erupted in the town on September 4 as US tanks rushed into the town to conduct search operations. In Fallujah, 12 Iraqis were killed and nine wounded in an overnight "precision air strike" by the US on a building being used by Qaida-linked militants, witnesses said. It was the third successive overnight air raid on the city. The US military said the site was being used by supporters of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. "The target was a building frequently used by terrorists," the US military said, adding "three Zarqawi associates were reported to be in the area, no other individuals were present at the time of the strike."
— IANS |
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70 militants killed in Pak air raids
Islamabad, September 9 “Pakistan security forces launched precise strike on a foreign terrorist training camp in Dila Khula of South Waziristan Agency, about 25 km north east of Wana, and successfully knocked it out,” defence spokesman, Shaukat Sultan said here. Without mentioning the casualties, he said the air raids were conducted after receiving confirmed reports on training camps being run by foreign elements including Uzbeks, Chechens and Arabs. “The facility was successfully knocked out through a precisely targeted operation which lasted for about two hours today morning”, Sultan said. “These trained terrorists were indulging in sabotage and terrorist acts in the country, as was revealed through investigations into the recent terrorist acts,” he said. Private Geo TV quoted defence officials as saying that some 70 people were killed when jets bombed the area. An unconfirmed report said Taliban militants were holding a meeting when the raid took place.
— PTI |
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Seven hanged in Iran
Tehran, September 9 Another man was hanged publicly in the city of Karaj. He had been convicted of kidnapping and raping several women and girls. In addition, an armed robber was hanged in the southwestern city of Ahvaz.
— AFP |
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IAF will train with Israelis, says Krishnaswamy
Tel Aviv, September 9 “We would work and train (with Israel) in some manner in exercises that are practical and possible. We look forward to learn from each other in many ways and the reactions (to such proposals) are positive and it is a matter of working out practicalities”, Krishnaswamy, who is here on a five-day visit, said. Krishnaswamy, who achieved the unique distinction of being the first Chief of Air Staff of any country to fly aboard the F-16I fighter jet yesterday, said, “We are pleased with whatever inductions we have made. They are very cost-effective and unique in terms of operational features.” The Phalcon deal, he said, would give us a longer look beyond the horizon and “we will exploit its advantages.” The $ 3 billion (US) Phalcon AWACS deal was signed between Israel, India and Russia last year. India is seeking to fit the Phalcon on three IL-76 transport aircraft. The Air Force Chief, who is here at the invitation of Israel’s Vice-Chief of Defence Staff Dan
Halutz, appreciated the cost-effective training methods adopted by the Jewish state. “Our focus today is not technology so much. We have enough machines, enough capability and enough technology. As an Air Force Chief I draw inspirations and lessons from how others manage their forces”, he said.
— PTI |
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Indian’s child born in Australia not citizen
Canberra, September 9 In a 5-2 majority decision, the court dismissed the family's challenge to a federal law that says six-year-old Tania Singh is not Australian. Under the law, which Tania's father Malkit Singh argued was unconstitutional, a baby born in Australia must have at least one parent who is Australian or a long-term resident of the country to automatically qualify for citizenship. Mr Malkit Singh, his wife Sarabjeet and their son Navjot (10), were born in India and arrived in Australia seeking asylum in April 1997. Tania was born in February 1998, while the family was in home detention, waiting for the outcome of their asylum application in the rural Victoria state town of Mildura. Before 1986, any child born in Australia was regarded as Australian. But the law was changed to deny failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants a legal way to stay. Refugee policy is a contentious political issue here in the run-up to the October 9 elections. The Singhs' lawyer, Mr Bruce Levet, said the family's refugee application had been rejected and they had been given 28 days from today to return to India.
— AP |
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1m commit suicide each year: WHO
New York, September 9 "Suicide is a tragic global public health problem," World Health Organisation (WHO) Assistant-Director General for Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health Catherine Le Galhs-Camus said ahead of the World Suicide Prevention Day being marked tomorrow. "There is an urgent need for coordinated and intensified global action to prevent this needless toll." The agency has produced a series of guidelines for different audiences that, it said, has a critical role in suicide prevention. The guidelines are meant for health workers, teachers, prison officers, media professionals and survivors of suicide. Director of WHO's Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Benedetto Saraceno, underlined the role played by the media, citing evidence that coverage can encourage imitation suicides and urging sensitivity in reporting on "these tragic and frequently avoidable deaths. "The media can also play a major role in reducing stigma and discrimination associated with suicidal behaviours and mental disorders," he added. Suicidal behaviour has a large number of complex underlying causes, including poverty, unemployment, loss of loved ones, arguments, breakdown in relationships and legal or work-related problems.
— PTI |
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Brunei’s Crown Prince weds commoner
Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei), September 9 Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah, 30, son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah — the absolute and fabulously wealthy ruler of 3,50,000 subjects — wed Sarah Salleh before 2,000 persons in a traditional Malay Muslim ceremony at Istana Nurul Iman, the 1,788-room main palace. The Sultan escorted the prince — wearing a gold crown and traditional blue costume with a kris dagger tucked into his belt — to the dais. He was joined by his bride, who emerged from a stateroom more than an hour behind schedule. The prince placed a hand on Sarah's diamond tiara as Muslim marriage prayers were recited. She stood still, radiant in a blue dress and veil and clasping a bouquet of pure gold and diamonds. They descended from the dais and kissed their family members, the wedding complete. Earlier, a 21-gun salute sounded as Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito, Bahrain's King Hamad, the Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard and Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia arrived and took their seats on gold-trimmed chairs in the cavernous, chandelier-lined, main hall at the palace. Other guests included Presidents Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines and prime ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of Malaysia and Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore. Soldiers with sub-machine guns lined the streets, and the roads were closed to ordinary traffic.
— AP |
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Tel Aviv, September 9
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