New York, January 9
A US court has sentenced a Pakistani immigrant to 30 years in prison for plotting to blow up a subway station in Manhattan in 2004 to avenge abuses of Iraqis at the hands of Americans soldiers.

In his statement before sentencing, 24-year-old Shahawar Matin Siraj, who has been held without bail since he was arrested along with another man on Aug 27, 2004, apologized but blamed a police informer of entrapping him.

During the trial, Defense had made similar plea that the informer had lured him but the federal jury had rejected the argument and convicted him.

A police informer had secretly recorded the statements of Siraj about his plans to blow up the station because of his anger at the United States. The tapes were played at the trial.

In the recordings, he had praised Osama bin Laden and predicted more terrorist attacks against America. But he never obtained any explosives nor had set anytime table. Nor was he ever linked to any terrorist group.

Judge Nina Gershon rejected the plea of the defense lawyers that he should not be given more than 10 years sentence.

In seeking a lenient sentence, they had argued that he was not a dangerous psychopath but a misguided and confused youngster.

The prosecution had demanded a sentence of 30 years in prison, arguing that Siraj was a "driving force" behind a "workable terrorist plot." "Your honour I want to apologise about whatever I said in the tapes, I wish I could take those words back but it already happened, I already said those things. I am taking responsibility for 34th Street (the subway station), but I was manipulated by this person," he told the judge, referring to paid police informer who had been engaged to keep an eye on radical Muslims.

Siraj was convicted on May 24 on four counts of conspiracy, including plotting to bomb a public transportation system.

"The crimes committed here were extremely serious," the judge said.

"They had the potential, if not thwarted, to wreak havoc with the New York City transportation system, indeed, the tristate-area transportation system," he said. He was convicted mainly on the testimony of the informer, Osama Eldawoody.

Siraj had come to the United States in 1999 along with his parents who were present when the sentence was read out. His mother, Shahina Parveen, who was seen crying told reporters that that her son was innocent and the paid informer had tricked him and that they would appeal the decision. — PTI

Dubai, January 9
The body of Dandapani Govindan from Tamil Nadu, lying in a hospital mortuary in Bahrain for the past three years, is awaiting its final journey.

The free visa worker had died of medical complications in a hospital in March 2004, and his the body has been kept there since then.

His relatives back home, who alleged that Govindan was murdered and refused to give permission to cremate the body by the hospital, were finally traced as they had shifted their home.

A local Indian charity, which traced them, said it is still awaiting a letter of consent from the widow to cremate the body.

Indian Community Relief Fund general secretary C R Nambiar told the Bahrain Tribune that it would act according to the demand of the family. — UNI

Baghdad, January 9
Fierce fighting raged in central Baghdad today between the Iraqi army and Sunni insurgents, as a grisly new video of Saddam Hussein, taken shortly after his hanging, appeared on the Internet.

The escalation comes as US President George W. Bush prepares to unveil his new strategy on Iraq tomorrow.A barrage of mortar and machine gun fire reverberated across central Baghdad as the security forces launched a crackdown on Sunni insurgents in Haifa Street, less than 2 km from the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq Government and the US Embassy.

US fighter jets and military helicopters hovered over the area where the battle was centred, witnesses and the US military said.

Skirmishes began in early hours today and soon grew into an intense fighting, forcing residents to steer clear of key roads.

The US military said Iraqi soldiers with support from the coalition forces “were conducting raids to capture multiple targets, disrupt insurgent activity and restore Iraqi security forces’ control on the north Haifa Street”. “The area has been subject to insurgent activity that has repeatedly disrupted the Iraqi security forces’ operation in central Baghdad,” Lieut-Col Scott Bleichwehl said in a statement.

He said small arms and rocket-propelled grenades were being used to target the joint forces. — AFP

Islamabad, January 9
Pakistan said on Monday that Indian Prime Minister’s statement earlier in the day regarding his desire for a peace and security pact with Islamabad was in the context of something that might happen at a future date and not in the immediate term.

“We are working to normalise relations with India and for that it is important that we resolve the longstanding issues between us, and Kashmir being the most important of them,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam told newsmen at a weekly press briefing.

“Once we are able to resolve the outstanding issues then perhaps we can move towards such a scenario,” she said.

The spokesperson was non-committal when asked whether India had shown any flexibility on the issue of Kashmir, and simply referred to the Indian prime minister’s recent public statements welcoming the various ideas floated by President Pervez Musharraf to move forward for a settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

In reply to a question about the UN resolutions on Kashmir, Ms Tasneem Aslam said they were alive and Kashmir was still on the UN Security Council agenda. To a question regarding the APHC delegation’s visit to Pakistan, she said: “We welcome these visits.”

Replying to another query, the spokesperson stated that the international community had been encouraging both Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

“We welcome the interest of the international community in the resolution of disputes between Pakistan and India for establishment of durable peace in this region,” she said.

AGREEMENTS: The spokesperson said that a number of agreements between Pakistan and India were in the works, and indicated that if procedural requirements were completed by the time of Indian foreign minister’s visit here later this week they could be signed or announced.

“Three or four agreements are in the pipeline and mostly the content has been negotiated and settled and they are awaiting completion of procedural requirements,” she said in response to a query.

The spokesperson did not deem it appropriate to go into the specifics of the proposals exchanged between the two sides on liberalizing visa regime at this stage, but added: “Of course it is in our interest to have these agreements at the earliest so that genuine travellers are able to undertake visits.”

In reply to a question about Indian foreign minister’s visit to Pakistan, the spokesperson said during his visit to Pakistan the two sides would review the third round of the composite dialogue that was concluded last year with the meeting of the two foreign secretaries in Delhi.

“We expect the next round of the composite dialogue to begin afterwards,” she said.

When asked about the significance of the visit, Ms Aslam’s response was: “Obviously whenever the foreign ministers meet they review the bilateral relations, specifically the peace process that is taking place between the two countries and also see how we move forward from here. And perhaps they may have some guidelines for the next round.”

In reply to a question, the spokesperson said it would be up to the Government of Pakistan to decide who would represent the country at the upcoming Saarc summit in India.

AFGHANISTAN: In reply to a question about whether Pakistan has sought international community’s help to mine its border with Afghanistan, the spokesperson said: “We have not sought anyone’s support and we have no intention of seeking support. This is something we are considering inside our territory and on our own.”

She said fencing and mining would be done on the basis of recommendations made by the army after it conducted a survey to identify the problem areas along the border.

— By arrangement with the Dawn

London, January 9
As the inquest into the death of the Princess of Wales finally looms, fears are growing that a new royal girlfriend could suffer the same fate as the young Diana, mobbed by the media before even marrying.

Prince William's photogenic partner Kate Middleton is coming under an increasingly intense spotlight, fueling comparisons with the press hounding of the young Lady Diana Spencer ahead of her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981.

The latest surge of media coverage has seen dozens of photographers camped outside Middleton's London flat, and following her in blacked-out vans and motorcycles, reminiscent of last minutes of Diana's life.

As lawyers met today to prepare for a long-awaited inquest into Diana's death, royal aides have rebuffed reports that police protection has already been beefed up around Middleton, who celebrates her 25th birthday today.

But observers point out that something needs to be done to protect her from the kind of hounding that many say contributed to the accident that took Diana's life in the Pont d'Alma road tunnel in Paris in 1997.

"As preliminary hearings in the inquest into the death of Diana resume today, it is obvious that media behaviour has changed less than was promised after she died," said the left-leaning daily Guardian in an editorial.

"The present explosion of interest in the relationship between Prince William and Kate Middleton ... is leading some photographers who follow the couple to behave in a disturbing way," it added. — AFP

Dhaka, January 9
The riot police fought off with water cannons and batons supporters of the major Awami League-led combine who tried to lay seige to the Presidential Palace here to force Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed to step down as the chief of the caretaker government. Fresh violence on the third day of the nationwide strike left at least 100 injured.

The security forces and protesters clashed at different places in the national capital, which turned into a virtual battlefield with the ‘mega’ alliance supporters hurling crude bombs and stones at the police. The police in turn fired rubber bullets and lobbed tear gas shells at the mob, eyewitnesses and the police said. Senior politicians Tofael Ahmed and Rashed Khan Menon were reportedly injured in the clashes. Clashes erupted at Dainik Bangla Crossing, Old Dhaka and in several other areas, injuring at least 100 persons.

The Awami League-led alliance on their third and the last day of the nationwide road, rail and waterway blockade tried to enforce a sit-in around the presidential palace where a security net was in place. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Gas smell in NY
NEW YORK: A powerful, mysterious smell of gas wafted through much of Manhattan and parts of New Jersey, forcing building evacuations and a temporary suspension of commuter train service before dissipating by mid-afternoon. Officials said the natural gas-like odor was not dangerous, but at least 19 persons went to hospital suffering minor complaints. A US Department of Homeland Security spokesman said there was no indication of a terrorism connection. — Reuters

Net in pocket
LAS VEGAS: Yahoo and Motorola have announced they have teamed up to “put the Internet in your pocket,” as the battle between rival search engines went mobile at the world’s largest electronics show in Las Vegas. Yahoo Connected Life Vice-President Marco Boerries joined Motorola President Ed Zander to unveil mobile telephones that “bring the Internet to your phone, not the other way around”.— AFP

Menu for blind
JERUSALEM: A proposed law in Israel will force all restaurants to translate its menus into Braille for the benefit of the blind. The law has been proposed by lawmaker Leah Shemtov of the right wing Israel Beiteinu party, who said nearly no restaurant in Israel currently translate menus into Braille, the standard system of raised dots used by the blind to read. — PTI

Undersea quake
SUVA: A powerful earthquake struck deep under the sea floor between Fiji and Tonga today, scientists said. There were no immediate reports of damage or tsunami warnings issued. The 6.2 magnitude quake happened shortly before 2:30 am IST, 407 km under the ocean floor about the same distance northwest of the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa, the US Geological Survey said. — AP

Indian deported
DUBAI: A 28-year-old man from Kasargode district in Kerala, who was detained at the Bahrain International Airport for travelling on a friend’s passport, has been deported back to India. Mohammed Karippodi Abdul Khader, who claimed he lost his passport in Dubai while working there and managed to leave the country on emergency exit, is likely to be prosecuted in India, reports said. — UNI