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Senior White House aide indicted
Pak arrests 5 militants for collecting aid
Pak, Indian officials discuss opening LoC
4 British soldiers fired at in Afghanistan
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Id gifts for quake-hit
Divali celebrated in House of Commons
Janet’s nude video hits Net
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Senior White House aide indicted
A senior White House aide was indicted on Friday on charges of lying to federal investigators and obstructing justice in the investigation into the leak of a CIA agent’s identity.
Vice-President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby Jr resigned on Friday soon after the indictment against him was announced. Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald said Mr Libby had been indicted on five counts – two counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstructing justice. Mr Libby faces up to 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines if convicted. President George W. Bush’s top adviser, Karl Rove, was spared MrLibby’s fate, however, he’s still not out in the clear. Noting the investigation was “not over,” Mr Fitzgerald said, “A CIA officer’s name was blown, and there was a leak, and we needed to figure out how that happened, who did it, why, whether a crime was committed, whether we could prove it, whether we should prove it.” The charges against a high-ranking official “show the world that this is a country that takes its law seriously,” Mr Fitzgerald said. The indictment raises serious questions about how the Bush Administration sought to justify the war against Iraq and puts the spotlight on Mr Cheney’s possible role in the unlawful disclosure of a CIA agent’s name in order to discredit her husband, a critic of the Iraq war. Mr Libby had testified to a grand jury that he heard CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity from Tim Russert of NBC News when, in fact, he learned of Ms. Plame’s identify from other government officials, the indictment alleged. “Mr Libby's story that he was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on from one reporter what he heard from another, was not true,” Mr Fitzgerald said. “He was at the beginning of the chain of phone calls — the first official to disclose this information outside the government to a reporter — and then he lied about it afterwards, under oath and repeatedly.” Mr Libby discussed Ms Plame's identity with reporters in the summer of 2003 after her husband Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, wrote an op-ed column in the New York Times that challenged the Bush Administration’s premise for invading Iraq. Mr Wilson had been sent on a CIA-sponsored mission to Niger in 2002 to investigate whether Iraq was seeking nuclear-weapons-grade material. In his 2003 State of the Union speech, Mr. Bush used the allegation as part of an effort to show that Iraq was actively pursuing weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Wilson found no such evidence and reported his findings to the CIA. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, Mr Bush said Mr Libby “has worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people and sacrificed much in the service to this country.” Calling Mr Fitzgerald's investigation and ongoing legal proceedings “serious,” Mr Bush added: “In our system, each individual is presumed innocent and entitled to due process and a fair trial.” Mr Libby said in a written statement he is “confident that at the end of this process I will be completely and totally exonerated.” Political analysts in Washington say the case has the potential to be much bigger than the Watergate scandal that led to the ignominious downfall of President Richard M. Nixon. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said the bigger picture was “about how the Bush White House manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to bolster its case for the war in Iraq and to discredit anyone who dared to challenge the president.” |
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Pak arrests 5 militants for collecting aid
Karachi, October 29 Mr Mamoor Khan, a police inspector, said the five men had been collecting donations in the southern city of Karachi in the name of a charity, Al-Rahmat Trust, recently set up the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. “We arrested them because they are from Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is not allowed to carry out any activity,” he said. President Pervez Musharraf banned Jaish-e-Mohammed in January 2002 in an effort to crackdown on extremist groups. Its members have fought Indian troops in divided Kashmir, where for 16 years insurgents have been seeking its independence or merger with Pakistan. The group also has close ties with the Taliban, and is suspected of links with al-Qaida and involvement in terrorist attacks
Pakistan. Many Islamic charities and militant groups using new names have been collecting donations or delivering aid to victims of the October 8 quake, which is believed to have killed about 80,000 people and left more than 3 million people homeless. This was the first reported instance of police arresting people with alleged ties to militancy for collecting donations.
— AP |
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Pak, Indian officials discuss opening LoC
Islamabad, October 29 "The two rounds of talks were held and informal talks will continue at dinner," a Pakistani official told IANS. He said that it was not clear if the delegates will continue talks on the second day, Sunday. However, when contacted, an Indian official said that both the sides had held extensive talks and a joint statement would be issued after Iftar dinner. "The talks started in the morning while the second round was held in the afternoon," said the official. Officials here say it is "a very important meeting" prompted by President Pervez Musharraf's announcement on Oct 18 that Pakistan is ready to open the LoC to allow Kashmiris from the other side to come and join their relatives in the aftermath of the devastating Oct 8 earthquake that has left over 55,000 people dead. In a formal proposal made to India on Oct 22, Pakistan suggested opening up of five crossing points along the LoC. India, however, made a counter-proposal of establishing three meeting points. During the daylong meeting both sides thrashed out modalities of the proposals that have apparently already been discussed in detail. On the eve of the crucial talks, officials sounded hopeful of some forward movement and an agreement on letting Kashmiris move both ways "from at least a couple of points". A six-member Indian delegation headed by Dilip Sinha, joint secretary (Pakistan) in the Ministry of External Affairs, arrived here on Friday night. Other members of the delegation comprise senior officials of the ministries of home affairs and defence. Ibne Abbas, director-general South Asia division at the ministry of foreign affairs, led the Pakistani delegation, which includes representatives of the ministries of interior, defence and Kashmir affairs and Northern Area.
— IANS |
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4 British soldiers fired at in Afghanistan
Mazar-I-Sharif (Afghanistan), October 29 Attackers on a motorbike and in a car opened fire on an unmarked vehicle of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) near a junction in front of the city’s famous Blue Mosque. The gunmen tried to flee on foot and four of them were detained by onlookers and handed over to police. The city has seen relatively few of the regular attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan that are blamed on fighters allied to the ousted Taliban government and other militant groups. Meanwhile, Taliban fighters have shot dead a man who contested Afghanistan’s provincial elections last month, and his son and brother, provincial officials and a spokesman for the militants said today.
— AFP |
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Id gifts for quake-hit
Muzaffarabad, October 29 Report said that they distributed Id gifts and cash among the affected in the areas of Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Hattian Bala, Chakkar, Ghari Dupata. Speaking on the occasion, Razaaq urged masses to submit donations for the quake affected on the occasion of Id. The 7.6 magnitude quake of October 8 claimed more than 55,000 lives in Pakistan and about 1,400 more in Jammu and Kashmir in India.
— IANS |
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Divali celebrated in House of Commons
London, October 29 Colourful Indian dances, melodious music, Indian food displays were the highlight of the two-hour-long programme. The deities of Lord Rama, wife Sita and brother Lakshmana took the centrestage in the dining room of the magnificent Commons building. Among those present were Lord Swraj Paul, NRI industrialist and Chairman of the London Olympics 2012 Delivery Committee, Keith Vaz, NRI leader and former minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Patricia Hewitt, Health Secretary, and Ranjan Mathai, Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK. Sending his best wishes on the occasion, Prime Minister Tony Blair said the festival celebrates the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. — PTI |
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Janet’s nude video hits Net
Los Angeles, October 29 Jackson’s manager in Los Angeles declined to comment on the footage and referred queries to the singer’s New Jersey-based publicist, who did not immediately return repeated phone calls. The video appears to have been shot surreptitiously. In a 34-second version of the clip playing on one website, called This Websiterules.com, a woman who appears to be Jackson is first seen lying on her back, tapping her hands beside her and moving her head back and forth as if listening to music. At one point, she appears to be rubbing lotion on her upper body, then her face is revealed as she sits up slightly. The woman is then shown lying facing down and reaching behind her to tap her buttocks rhythmically. Another site, iFilm.com, had posted the video earlier but yesterday was running a message that said: “Out of respect for Ms Jackson, this film has been removed from IFILM.com.”—
Reuters |
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