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UN, USA, Russia condemn Delhi blasts Christian girls beheaded in Indonesia Survivors face long wait in Neelum Valley Incentive for army recruitment: UK |
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UN, USA, Russia condemn Delhi blasts
Washington, October 30 UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "appalled" and "shocked" at the "terrorist outrage" on the eve of the festival of Divali. Condemning the blasts which killed 61 persons and injured 188, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said "these acts are made more heinous in that they deliberately targeted innocent civilians preparing for holiday celebrations. British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a letter of condolence to his Indian counterpart, Dr Manmohan Singh, while his Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, said the blasts were "yet another example of terrorists' cynical and callous disregard for human life." Describing the blasts in Delhi as “inhuman” and “pointless acts of terrorism”, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the explosions coming on the eve of Divali invoke grief and indignation among his countrymen. Iran also denounced the serial blasts that rocked Delhi yesterday, saying these ran “counter to humane principles”. Israel condemned the terror attacks in the strongest possible terms calling it a further instance of “terrorists’ brutal disregard for innocent lives.” Japan deplored the bombing as and extremely mean and impermissible act, while extending its sympathy to the victims of the incident. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the “government and the people of Malaysia strongly condemn this evil deed and express deep sympathies to the families of the innocent victims. Malaysia hopes the perpetrators will soon be found and brought to justice”. Sri Lanka expressed distress over “terrorist bombings in New Delhi” and said it was in contact with Indian authorities to find out if any of its nationals were affected. Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia said she was deeply shocked at the serial blasts in New Delhi that left many innocent people dead or injured. — PTI |
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Christian girls beheaded in Indonesia
Jakarta, October 30 Six machete-wielding men attacked the 16 to 19-year-old students as they were walking to their school on Saturday on Indonesia's eastern island of Sulawesi, the police said. Muslim-Christian clashes in the Poso area killed 2,000 people from 1998 through 2001, when a peace deal was agreed. The three headless bodies of the girls, dressed in brown uniforms, were left at the site of the attack. Their heads were found at separate locations two hours later by residents. On Sunday reports of the killings were featured across the front pages of virtually all Indonesian newspapers. Leading daily Media Indonesia splashed a headline across its front page saying "Barbaric!" and the Muslim-oriented Republika daily devoted its full front page to the incident. The girls' bodies, their heads re-attached, were in flowing white gowns, their hands holding bouquets. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has condemned the killings, which he described as "sadist and inhuman crimes." About 85 per cent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslim. But in some eastern parts, Christian and Muslim populations are about equal. Most Indonesian Muslims are moderates, but there has been an increasingly active militant minority in recent years. Religious and communal tension in areas like Poso have been aggravated by a transmigration policy in which for decades large numbers of people from Indonesia's most crowded areas like Java, mostly Muslim, moved to places that had been largely Christian. In addition to religion, the newcomers often have cultural and language differences with locals. Politicians and security forces have sometimes been charged with exploiting the differences for their own ends, adding to the potential for violence. — Reuters |
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Survivors face long wait in Neelum Valley Islamabad, October 30 Informed sources told Dawn here on Saturday that ‘‘young mountains’’ continued to collapse, making the job of government and private agencies extremely
difficult and delaying plans to rescue tens of thousands of people in the Neelum Valley. Security agencies have conceded that there is little hope of repair work being undertaken in the coming weeks due to the huge blockade in the Neelum river in the Kail area of occupied Kashmir. At present only helicopters can be used to evacuate the people, many of whom are refusing to leave their mountain villages without their animals, sources said. The current number of MI-17 helicopters operating in the areas is considered insufficient to effectively carry out rescue and relief work in the Neelum Valley. Most of these helicopters were inducted in the army after 9/11. “But 22-25 Chinook helicopters of US Central Command have been shipped to Pakistan and will reach here within the next few days,” a source said, adding that the government was worried about the plight of those left stranded in the Neelum Valley. He said a high-level meeting presided over by President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Friday considered a proposal to offer a temporary shelter and Rs 25,000 to each individual willing to come down from the mountains keeping in view an assessment that it would take four to six months to get the Neelum Valley opened for travelling purposes. While some roads have been opened in Jhelum and Kaghan valleys, an area covering 30 km of Neelum Valley could not be even partially rehabilitated and opened since the earthquake struck the region. Sources said the President had also been advised that some permanent institution be created to respond to disasters with active input from the army. They said the government had decided to pay from its own coffers the fuel charges of helicopters as the State Bank account had not received enough funds. Sources confirm that it costs $ 6,000 to fly a helicopter for an hour. “We will provide funds for the fuel so that helicopters do not stop flying,” a source said. “One of the major lessons learnt in the wake of the October 8 earthquake is that we must prepare for the effective handling of future disasters and have a better civilian set-up to cope with the situation,” the source said. |
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Incentive for army recruitment: UK
London, October 30 The infantry is under greater operational strain than any other part of the army. The majority of the 8,500 troops serving in Iraq come from the infantry, and the 3,200 who will be deployed to Afghanistan next April will come mainly from infantry battalions. The document, drawn up by the infantry’s headquarters, also shows that none of its eight divisions — Foot Guards, Scots, Queen’s King’s, Prince of Wales’s Own, Light Division, Royal Irish and the Parachute Regiment — will meet their recruiting targets. The document shows that the infantry - which contains about 28,000 soldiers, is 1,859 men under strength, a figure that will increase to 2,288 about 8 per cent of the infantry, by next March.
— PTI |
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