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Shi’ite mosque bombed again in Iraq Samarra, June 13 Suspected Sunni insurgents blew up the two minarets of a revered Shi’ite shrine in the Iraqi town of Samarra today, 15 months after its bombing by Al-Qaida ignited brutal sectarian clashes.
A file photo of the Shi’ite Golden Mosque after it was destroyed by suspected Al-Qaida militants in a bomb attack last year, in Samara, 96 km north of Baghdad. — Reuters photo

Boucher in Pak to discuss judicial, political crisis
US assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher on Wednesday began a round of meetings with government leaders and was due to meet senior politicians amid a confusing report from Washington suggesting that the Bush administration expects Gen Musharraf to shed his uniform and get re-elected after the general elections from the new elected assemblies instead of the present.

Nawaz to back Imran against MQM
In a meeting in London on Tuesday, Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif pledged full support to cricketing legend Imran Khan in his current spat against the Mutahhida Qaumi Movement while both pledged to launch a joint struggle for the ouster of Gen. Musharraf and stay together even afterwards for full restoration of democracy.

Anand slapped with 13 new charges
Indian-born fashion designer Anand Jon’s woes continue to multiply. Jon (33), appeared in a California court yesterday, where he pleaded not guilty to 13 new charges of sexual abuse levelled by six girls. The fresh charges brings to 18 the number of women and girls, ranging in age from 14 to 27, who have accused Jon of sexual abuse.

Diaspora
Sikh workers sue US employers for exploitation
New York, June 13
Indian American Sikhs sue employersAngry over non-payment of wages and exploitation at workplace, a group of Indian American Sikh construction workers have filed a lawsuit against their employers in a city court.

Peres elected Israeli President
Jerusalem, June 13
Veteran statesman and Nobel laureate Shimon Peres was elected President of Israel today, capping a six decade old political career in which he has held every senior political position.

Shi’ite mosque bombed again in Iraq

Samarra, June 13
Suspected Sunni insurgents blew up the two minarets of a revered Shi’ite shrine in the Iraqi town of Samarra today, 15 months after its bombing by Al-Qaida ignited brutal sectarian clashes.

The morning destruction of the gold-covered minarets of the Al-Askari mosque in the largely Sunni town north of Baghdad raised fears of a resurgence in inter communal violence, with curfews imposed in Samarra and Baghdad.

“The explosions that led to the collapse of the two minarets were due to bombs planted at their bases,” said Lieut Omar Ghalib of the Samarra police.

An AFP correspondent at the site said Iraqi and US forces were heavily deployed in the town as US helicopters hovered above “A team of explosives experts has been dispatched to the shrine,” said local government spokesman Ali al-Juboori.

The US military said the “minarets at the golden mosque compound were destroyed around 9 am today”. “The cause of the explosions is being investigated by the Iraqi police at the scene. No casualties have been reported”. Sheikh Saleh al-Haidiri, head of the Shiite endowment administrative body responsible for Shiite shrines in Iraq, said the minarets, which had towered more than 30 meters (100 feet) over Samarra, were blown up by terrorists”. “It is a terrorist attack ... the second one against the shrine,” Haidiri said in Baghdad. “It is a terrorist attack aimed at sparking sectarian violence”.

Iraq’s radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for calm and a three-day mourning. — AFP

Boucher in Pak to discuss judicial, political crisis
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

US assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher on Wednesday began a round of meetings with government leaders and was due to meet senior politicians amid a confusing report from Washington suggesting that the Bush administration expects Gen Musharraf to shed his uniform and get re-elected after the general elections from the new elected assemblies instead of the present.

Boucher met foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri, foreign secretary Riaz Ahmed Khan and was expected to call on President Musharraf as well. The Pakistan foreign office spokesperson has refuted reports that Boucher is on a mission to mediate between Musharraf and former premier Benazir Bhutto.

But US Embassy officials here confirmed that Boucher would discuss political situation, current judicial crisis and upcoming elections in meetings with top officials and opposition politicians.

A report from Washington quoted State Department spokesman Sean McCormack as saying that the administration believed President Musharraf would seek re-election from parliament formed after the forthcoming elections. The spokesman also hoped that if President Musharraf “continues in political life,” he will “put aside the uniform”.

Musharraf has repeatedly stated that he would seek election from present assemblies in September-October while still in uniform and oversee general elections to be held after the presidential election.

The spokesman in his daily briefing also reminded Islamabad that a free media was “an essential to any functional democracy” even if at times it caused “heartburns”.

McCormack, however, dispelled the impression that Boucher was on a mission to forge a power-sharing arrangement between President Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

The US official chose a question about the current political situation in Pakistan to elucidate Washington’s position on the electoral process for the president.

“There are going to be some important elections coming up in the fall time for a parliament. The parliament will then choose who will be Pakistan’s next president,” he said.

Then he turned to the uniform issue recalling that Gen Musharraf had already pledged to “put aside” his uniform if he continues in political life.

“And we take him at his word at that and we would expect him to follow through on his commitments,” said the US official.

Nawaz to back Imran against MQM
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

In a meeting in London on Tuesday, Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif pledged full support to cricketing legend Imran Khan in his current spat against the Mutahhida Qaumi Movement while both pledged to launch a joint struggle for the ouster of Gen. Musharraf and stay together even afterwards for full restoration of democracy.

Talking to newsmen, Nawaz Sharif said he had "some files" about the "criminal activities" of MQM, and his party would present this proof in court if required. His government had ended its alliance with the MQM after Hakeem Saeed's murder in 1998. "We broke our own coalition government with the MQM in Sindh after proof that the MQM had involvement in Hakeem's murder," he said.

Imran Khan scoffed at reports that the MQM has filed a "reference" against him with the speaker National Assembly seeking his disqualification to be an MP for violation of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution which prescribe stringent conditions and Islamic moral code for the members introduced by Gen. Ziaul Haq in 1985. He said if the clauses were applied on him, almost all members of the ruling party would also stand disqualified.

"Even MQM's mentor Gen Musharraf will stand disqualified under this clause", he said, adding that such dirty tricks would not deter him from his drive against the MQM chief.

Imran said the MQM was a "terrorist outfit" and Altaf was acting like the "don" of the mafia sitting in London. He regretted that Iqbal Kazmi, who had moved a court in Karachi against the MQM over the May 12 carnage, was trashed by Altaf's "terrorists" and no one had the courage to stand against him.

Asked if Nawaz would appear in the British court to give evidence against Altaf, Imran said his case was already very strong and he might not need Nawaz to give further evidence in the court. However, Nawaz interjected that he would provide all possible assistance and information to Imran.

Imran also asked Nawaz to return to Pakistan and lead the ongoing movement against General Pervez Musharraf.

Anand slapped with 13 new charges
Ashish Kumar Sen writes from Washington

Indian-born fashion designer Anand Jon’s woes continue to multiply. Jon (33), appeared in a California court yesterday, where he pleaded not guilty to 13 new charges of sexual abuse levelled by six girls.

The fresh charges brings to 18 the number of women and girls, ranging in age from 14 to 27, who have accused Jon of sexual abuse.

He faces more than 40 felony and misdemeanour counts of sexual assault that include rape, sexual battery and committing a lewd act on a child, according to Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. He could face life in prison if convicted of all charges.

Prosecutors have accused Jon of luring young women with the promise of modelling assignments. However, defence attorney Danny Davis, said, “It appears to be in this case, fairly a gossip among young models that’s gone a little wild.” Davis said a “sharing of stories” had brought Jon’s accusers together.

He was taken into custody by authorities from Dallas, Texas, where he faces three other sexual assault charges. Davis said he expected Jon to travel to Texas for an arraignment.

Diaspora
Sikh workers sue US employers for exploitation

New York, June 13
Indian American Sikhs sue employersAngry over non-payment of wages and exploitation at workplace, a group of Indian American Sikh construction workers have filed a lawsuit against their employers in a city court.

In the complaint filed Tuesday, the workers, all members of New York Construction Workers United (NYCWU), a worker’s body, alleged that even after putting in long hours of work in dangerous conditions they were not fully paid and often discriminated against.

“I was paid only $1,000 by my employer. Sometimes, we have to work with our bare hands because the contractor won’t give us equipment. And there is so much discrimination in who gets hired so we don’t always get steady work,” Kalvinder Samra, one of the complainant said.

Samra added that physical threats and harassment on the job are common. He hoped that other workers would see his coming forward as a sign that they must also protest injustice. “We have to fight together for justice and real change in our industry,” he said.

Similarly, Jaswinder Singh, Gurdev Singh and Darshan Singh, all Sikh immigrants from India, worked on contract basis at a hospital in Queens. Their employer paid them for less than half of the days they worked, IndoLink, an ethnic magazine reported.

Another Sikh, Balvinder Singh said he performed steam cleaning, pointing, and roofing work at a large residential building in the Bronx area over the course of two months in 2005 and 2006. Although he was promised over $15,000 for his work, he was paid only $3,000.

The New York State minimum wage is currently $7.15 per hour. Workers must be paid the overtime rate of one and a half times the regular wage for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. The minimum overtime rate is $10.72 per hour.

“These cases are just the surface in an industry where the exploitation of workers runs deep,” said lawyer Tushar J Sheth of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund , which filed the case on behalf of the workers.

“Although violations are prevalent, the law is clear in protecting construction workers’ right to be paid for all of their labour at the wages they are contractually promised,” Sheth added. — IANS

Peres elected Israeli President

Jerusalem, June 13
Veteran statesman and Nobel laureate Shimon Peres was elected President of Israel today, capping a six decade old political career in which he has held every senior political position.

Peres has been elected ninth President of Israel at a time when the office of the ceremonial head has taken a severe battering in view of charges of rape and sexual misconduct against the outgoing President, Moshe Katsav.

Speaking at the Knesset after the final round of voting, a beaming Peres thanked the lawmakers who supported him and pledged to “give my all to serve Israel.”

Peres said he saw his new role as a unifier of Israel’s fractured society.

“The President’s role is not to deal with politics and partisanship, but to represent what unites us in a strong voice,” he said.

“A president must represent the people’s desire to be a united nation,” the elderly statesman emphasised.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert paid tribute to his deputy saying that, “Israel has been waiting hopefully for the election of Peres as President.”

The 83-year-old Nobel laureate won 86 votes in a second round ballot after his two rivals in the race threw their support to him. — PTI