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Turban row in Canada
Pak Sikh’s house set on fire
Pak chief justice’s objections rejected
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N-Deal KANISHKA BOMBING US says leading
Al-Qaida figure killed in Iraq No India-Iran defence
cooperation: Menon
Blair faces mid-term poll test 21 Indian workers claim employer beat them up
Pokhran: US was caught unawares
Harry’s Iraq deployment ‘to be delayed’
Former Afghan PM shot dead
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Toronto, May 3 Gaurav Singh, an employee of a multinational bank, claims that after waiting in line for an hour to get into the Marlowe Restaurant and Wine Bar in Ontario Saturday to celebrate a friend's birthday, he was told by the doorman and the manager that he would not be allowed in because of the establishment's no-headgear policy. Singh's friends posted details about the incident on Facebook, a popular networking site originally developed for college and university students. Within no time an international campaign of support was launched, with hundreds of online responses to his plight pouring in from India, Britain and the US, the Star newspaper reported. "What occurred was something I have never experienced in my 25 years in North America," wrote Singh. "I have travelled across the globe and I am sad to admit that the only location I have ever received such treatment was the country (of which) I am a proud citizen. There was no other reason other than my religious head covering." Singh has already approached the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund and Mississauga-Brampton South MP Navdeep Bains. "As you know, everyone consults their lawyer before they do anything nowadays," said John, the restaurant manager, adding that he was "under strict guidelines" not to discuss the incident. "If you heard our side, you'd be shocked. Right now there are so many lies and accusations going around, it's unbelievable. The misinformation is unbelievable," he added. — IANS
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Pak Sikh’s house set on fire
Islamabad, May 3 Leaders of Ansar-ul-Islam (AI), a religious group in North West Frontier Province's Khyber Agency, was accused of expelling the Tirah-based Sikh for converting to the "Lashkar-e-Islam’s untrue version of Islam". "Qazi Mehboob and Said Akbar came to me and said my first Islam is not genuine. They said it was tableeghi Islam," said Din Muhammad, who had converted to Islam 29 years ago.
— PTI
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Pak chief justice’s objections rejected
Counsel for the President Khaled Ranjha today began arguments in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), rejecting Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s objections to the competence, composition and alleged bias of three of the five judges of the council hearing the presidential reference. The SJC adjourned the hearing of the reference till May 9 while the government lawyers were on their feet.
Earlier, Iftikhar’s lead lawyer Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan concluded his arguments that had taken eight marathon sittings of the council. The next hearing would be carried out on May 9 and 10, acting Chief Justice Rana
Bhagwandas, who is presiding over the proceedings announced. The council once again turned down another petition by Aitzaz to stop hearing on the plea that a larger Bench of the Supreme Court will be hearing constitutional petitions filed by Jutice Iftikhar from May 7 on a daily basis. He said the petitions challenge the legality of the reference and competence of the council to hear it. Outside the court the lawyers had a scuffle with the police when they were prevented to enter the court premises. On the constitution avenue in front of the court, several thousand lawyers, political workers, civil society activists, ex-servicemen and minorities staged a protest demonstration, seeking Musharraf’s resignation and reinstatement of Justice
Chaudhry.
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N-Deal Washington, May 3 The warning came despite assertion by visiting foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon here on Tuesday that India’s dealings with Iran were not in any way contravention of the UN Security Council resolutions. The letter to the Prime Minister has listed, what the lawmakers say, a series of recent meetings between Indian and Iranian officials as indications of growing cooperation between the two countries on military and energy issues. “We must stress that the subject of India’s strengthening relationship with Iran will inevitably be a factor” when the Congress votes on the final language of the nuclear agreement, the letter said, according to a report in The Washington Post. Lawmakers “are not just alarmed but actually outraged by India’s outreach to Iran”, an unnamed aide was quoted as saying in newspaper. Meanwhile, Menon, who was here meeting Bush Administration officials, refuted media reports that New Delhi was building a closer military relationship with Iran.
— PTI
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Kanishka Bombing Toronto, May 3 Gandhi had suggested to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney that Canada had breached international procedures by not re-screening the luggage on Flight 182. Details of the emotionally charged exchange were revealed yesterday in declassified government documents, released at the judicial inquiry probing the June 23, 1985 bombing that killed 329 and a blast the same day at Tokyo’s Narita Airport that killed two. A June 27 briefing document about the call says: “Overall impression was that Gandhi was highly excited, perturbed and concerned, but highly appreciative of the call. After our PM related his sympathies and condolences, Gandhi said he understood three suitcases had been pulled from Air India flight in Montreal and his understanding was that when such a thing happened, it was a standard (international) practise that all suitcases would be searched, but this had not been done in this case.” “Our PM did not comment directly on this, but went on to say that in response to Indian requests we had made every effort to ensure safety of Indian diplomatic personnel and premises in Canada. We would redouble our protective efforts and prosecute to the full extent of the law anyone involved in illegal action,” the National Post reported quoting the documents. “Mulroney has asked Canadian authorities for a full report and we will relay that to Indian authorities,” says the memo, which was signed by an Ottawa official with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Another memo released at the inquiry describes a meeting on June 25, 1985 between Bartleman’s minister, Joe Clark and
S.J.S. Chhatwal, then Indian High Commissioner in Canada, about the bombing. At meeting, Clark said: “He had for some time been very concerned about some activities within the Indian ethnic community in Canada involving extremist elements,” the document says.
— PTI
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US says leading Al-Qaida figure killed in Iraq Baghdad, May 3 It accused him of involvement in the kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll, peace activist Tom Fox and other foreigners. US military spokesman Major-General William Caldwell said Muharib Abdul Latif Al-Jubouri was the “senior minister of information” for Al-Qaeda in Iraq. — Reuters
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No India-Iran defence
cooperation: Menon
Washington, May 3 “I was quite amazed to see all those stories, quite frankly. I am not sure what they are based on, stories of military cooperation and so on,” the Washington Post quoted him as saying. His remarks sought to dampen growing congressional concern over India’s relations with the Islamic republic. Several Congressmen and senators had sent a letter expressing their concerns in this regard to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A reporter from the paper asked Mr menon for a clarification after eight senators, led by Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) and Barber Boxer (D-Calif.), recently sent a letter to Dr Singh calling on India to “cease all military cooperation with Iran immediately.” The letter noted news reports that the two nations have created a “joint defence working group.” Mr Menon, who completed two days of talks with US officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also reported great strides in resolving disputes that have held up the implementation of a landmark 2006 nuclear accord between US and India.
— UNI
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Blair faces mid-term poll test London, May 3 Attention was focused on Scotland, where the Scottish National Party (SNP) has promised a referendum on independence if it comes out on top, triggering warnings of a break-up of the United Kingdom. The local and regional ballots come as Blair prepares to hand over power after 10 years, almost certainly to his less charismatic successor Finance Minister and erstwhile rival Gordon Brown. In all some 39 million people are entitled to vote in what some call “super Thursday.” In England, some 10,500 seats are up for grabs in 312 local authorities; in Wales, voters are choosing a new 60-seat Welsh Assembly, while in Scotland, they are voting for the 129-member Scottish Parliament. Analysts say Labour could lose 600-700 seats to the main opposition Conservatives, while the SNP could grab the lion’s share of seats in the devolved Scottish Parliament. A new poll today gave the SNP a clear five point lead in the race for the Scottish assembly. The YouGov survey, published in the Daily Telegraph, gave the Nationalists 32 per cent, against 27 per cent for Blair’s party. The Conservatives will be trying to secure an electoral bridgehead for their eventual return to power which they lost in 1997 to New Labour — the powerful pro-business centrist force that Blair transformed from its leftwing roots. The Tories have gradually overtaken Labour in opinion polls since reform-minded David Cameron became their leader 18 months ago, with a goal to turn the right-wing party into a centrist and electable force. —AFP
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21 Indian workers claim employer beat them up
Kuala Lumpur, May 3 “There are at least 143,000 Indian labourers working in Malaysia. However, there are a few cases of fly-by-night recruitment agents, working in India and Malaysia, who flout all laws and rules and cheat unsuspecting youth who just want to get out of the unemployment trap and fall for the foreign job offer,” sources here said. In the latest case, 21 Indian men, aged between 20 and 40, fled from their employer after not being paid and also beaten by them. One worker, identified as Rajan Muthu, from Tamil Nadu, said he had come to Malaysia in January last year but had been paid only one month's salary so far. “The agent promised me a job of 800 ringgit (about Rs 9,600) per month for a 10-hour shift but on arrival here the employer said the salary was only 600 ringgit,” Muthu said, adding that he had only been paid for a month so far.
— PTI
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Pokhran: US was caught unawares
Washington, May 3 The timing of India's 1998 Pokhran tests had caught Washington by surprise, Tenet says in his just-published book 'At the Centre of the Storm: My Years at the CIA'. Questioned about the tests, Tenet says that he told Richard Shelby, Senate Intelligence Oversight Committee Chairman, "Senator we didn't have The former CIA Director says "three years earlier in 1995 we had learned about similar test preparations and strongly urged the Indians to stop. They had but in confronting them we had given them a road map for how to deceive us in the future." "We did not sufficiently expect that Indian politicians might do what they had openly promised - conduct a nuclear test, as the incoming ruling party had said it would," Tenet says. Tenet says that failure of the American intelligence to detect the 1998 Pokhran tests was one of the mistakes of his tenure which he cannot stop remembering even now. "Unfortunately when you run a place like CIA, it's the low lights that stand out in the media - the mistakes, the gaffes - things everyone can see and no one, can resist commenting on. For many of those I would like to turn back the clock and erase them. Some, I can't stop remembering," Tenet writes in his book. "We knew both countries (India and Pakistan) had nuclear desires, intent and capabilities and we knew the risks all too well. The India-Pakistan border is one of the most contentious in the world may be even more than the border that divides Israel and the Palestinians. Unleashing nuclear weapon on the subcontinent could kill literally millions." — PTI
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Harry’s Iraq deployment ‘to be delayed’
London, May 3 This will be done so that the rest of the soldiers in his unit can
acclimatise themselves to their surroundings. This was reported in an early edition of
The Sun today. Both the Ministry of Defence and a spokesman for the prince declined to comment on the report or details of his deployment.
— AFP
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Former Afghan PM shot dead
Kabul, May 3 Abdul Saboor Farid, who was a member of Afghanistan’s upper house of the parliament, was shot outside his house in northern Kabul late yesterday, said Gen Zulmay Khan, Kabul province’s deputy police chief. Farid was Afghanistan’s PM for a month in 1992, when the country plunged in a bitter civil war following the defeat of the Soviet army by the US backed mujahedeen fighters. Farid was representative of the northern province of Kapisa. He was a senior mujahedeen commander in the area.
— AP
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