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NASA
engineer shoots co-worker, kills self US senators see threat from Pak militants Pak’s oppn leader on India visit Ash-Abhi wedding keeps Pak fans glued |
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NASA engineer shoots co-worker, kills self
Houston, April 21 Identified as 60-year-old William A. Phillips, the gunman, a Jacobs Engineering employee working with NASA for 12 to 13 years, fatally shot David Beverly in the chest at about 1.40 pm yesterday (12.10 am IST today). After almost three hours, he shot himself in the head. The police found a second hostage Francelia Crenshaw, also a contract worker, bound to a chair with duct tape. She was unharmed and taken to hospital immediately. The authorities said Phillips barricaded himself in a second floor office at the Building 44, the communications and tracking development laboratory, after he was able to take a gun past NASA security. Later, he took Beverly and Crenshaw hostage. Police Capt Dwayne Ready said officers were called to the scene after a man was seen with a gun. He said the police was making contact with the suspect when they heard the gunshot. “Believing that the suspect may have shot himself the decision was made to make entry.” It was not clear why Phillips, described as a model employee by Johnson Space Centre’s Director Mike Coats, did the killing. On a chalkboard in the room where his body was found, Phillips left a list of names and phone numbers and a scribbled note, which was not immediately understandable, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said. There was apparently a dispute between Phillips and Beverly, but the gunman did not threaten Crenshaw, who was uninjured, Hurtt said. Phillips was unmarried and had no children, and his closest relative is a cousin, Hurtt said. In a statement, NASA administrator Michael Griffin said: “All of us at NASA are profoundly saddened by today’s tragedy at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and all those touched by today’s events.” NASA employees and contract workers, who were evacuated from the building, were kept informed of the situation by e-mail. NASA spokesman James Hartsfield declined to speculate on how a person would get a gun inside NASA. NASA is a highly secured facility that requires approved access. Anyone who comes on to Johnson Space Centre property has to have an employee badge or a visitor badge. Visitors must show a drivers’ license or some other form of identification to be cleared to be on the property.
— PTI
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US senators see threat from Pak militants
The presence of militant groups in Pakistan threatens not only India and the USA but Pakistan as well, four US senators have told President Pervez Musharraf. In a letter to General Musharraf the senators said: “So long as known Al Qaeda affiliates like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), and their leaders continue to enjoy a safe haven on Pakistani soil, we believe that they will pose a grave threat to the safety of the USA, India and Pakistan.” Both the LeT and JeM have been listed as foreign terrorist organisations by the USA. The letter, made available to the Tribune, was signed by four senators - Patrick J. Leahy, Joseph R. Biden Jr, Blanche L. Lincoln and John F. Kerry. The senators urged General Musharraf to step up efforts to stop militant groups from using Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as a “staging ground.” They noted that both LeT and JeM, “often with only loosely-changed names,” continue to operate in Pakistan and in Indian-controlled Kashmir. LeT’s social service wing, Jamaa-ud Dawa, has been identified as a suspect in the foiled bombing plot in August at London’s Heathrow Airport. JeM was also implicated in the plot. Rashid Rauf, the primary suspect, was identified as an in-law of the group’s founder. The senators expressed concern that “Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan has become a haven for forces opposing the Afghan government, international terrorist organisations, and drug dealers threatening the USA and our allies.” US forces have reported that the number of cross-border attacks have increased threefold since General Musharraf struck the controversial peace deal with tribes along the Afghan border in September. The continued presence of terrorist elements in Pakistan is proving a challenge for General Musharraf. Islamabad is being terrorised by a radical cleric and his followers at Lal Masjid in the heart of the capital. Dr Samina Ahmed, at the International Crisis Group, told the Tribune from Islamabad that General Musharraf’s alliance with the six-party religious alliance, the MMA, a coalition partner in Balochistan, was empowering Jihadist elements in Pakistan.
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Pak’s oppn leader on India visit
Pakistan’s opposition leader in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman left on Saturday for New Delhi on a four-day trip during which he is expected to meet top Indian leaders in the government. Fazl will attend a seminar on Sunday being organised by the Jamiat Ulema Hind to mark the death anniversary of Maulana Asad Madni. Meanwhile, some unknown people fired a missile at Fazl’s residence in Dera Ismail Khan, while he was attending the meeting of the supreme council of religious grouping, the Muttahida Majlise Amal (MMA) on Thursday. Nobody was hurt. Secretary general of Fazl’s JUI party, Ghafoor Hyderi blamed secret agencies for the attack but Fazl said he could not place the responsibility on anybody. Rehman’s party the Jamat Ulema Islami-F had sponsored a convention of over 1000 seminaries in Peshawar two days ago where suicide bombings as well as attempts to impose shariah law were declared unislamic.
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Ash-Abhi wedding keeps Pak fans glued
Islamabad, April 21 The wedding in Big B's household remained the top story for several days on Pakistani TV channels like Geo and ARY which deployed special staff to anchor "exclusive" features highlighting various events of the wedding with footage from their Indian TV collaborators. Struggling actress Janhavi Kapoor, who allegedly attempted suicide outside the Bachchan residence yesterday claiming she was married to Abhishek, also provided much fodder for the channels. The channels aired live shots of the 'barat' (wedding procession) yesterday. The print media splashed the story on the front pages today, with photographs and details of the marriage. Some channels roped in Pakistani actors to comment on the wedding of the Bollywood's celebrity couple, whose movies have been vastly popular in Pakistan. Bollywood has a large fan following in Pakistan even though the movies are banned in theatres. CDs of Indian movies, most of them pirated, are released in Pakistan either on the same day or, on some occasions, even before they are released in India. Commenting on the wedding, popular actress Reema said Aiswarya and Abhishek were lucky to have a "dream wedding" in real life. "Film stars normally have such weddings in films. Very few have them in real life," she said "Both of them are excellent stars and wonderful persons. I wish them well," Reema said over Geo TV as the channel showed the video of the high-profile wedding.
— PTI
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