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Political Crisis Deepens |
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War on terror
Israel cuts back fuel supplies to Gaza
Near-landslide win for Sarkozy’s allies
Monarchy can be retained: Nepal PM
Knighthood for Rushdie Spaceflight still dangerous: Sunita Fourth spacewalk to repair Atlantis Shilpa Shetty receives Silver Star Award
BBC scribe to be freed today: Hamas
Yavlinsky may run for presidentship
Solving puzzles boosts brain power
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Faisalabad, June 17 Supporters of suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry waited through the night as he took more than 20 hours to reach the industrial city of Faisalabad from the capital Islamabad, a journey that normally takes four hours. Chaudhry and a convoy of lawyers in black business suits and opposition supporters waving flags from their cars made several stops in sun-baked farming towns of Punjab province on their way. Opposition activists threw rose petals and mobbed Chaudhry’s vehicle as he arrived in towns to meet groups of lawyers, reducing his progress to a crawl for hours on end. The suspension of Chaudhry on March 9 by President Pervez Musharraf, who is also army chief, has whipped up a serious challenge to his rule, uniting lawyers defending the independence of the judiciary and the opposition eyeing elections around the end of the year. Musharraf also hopes to get re-elected for a second five-year term. Chaudhry, fighting for reinstatement through the Supreme Court, has steered clear of party politics and avoided public comments on the accusations of misconduct against him since his suspension. Today, he spoke of the need for justice for all. “Peace can be ensured in a society if justice is available to all people without any discrimination of poor and rich,” he told a big gathering of lawyers in Faisalabad who waited in the open through a rainy night for his arrival. “If it happens then no one can suppress the people.” Chaudhry’s supporters, however, have minced no words and called for an end to military rule in a country run by generals for more than half the 60 years since its formation. “We have to ensure supremacy of justice and we have to get rid of generals ... The war is raging between General Musharraf and lawyers and people of Pakistan,” Ali Ahmed Kurd, one of Chaudhry’s lawyers, told the gathering. — Reuters
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Political Crisis Deepens
Jerusalem, June 17 Amid a deepening political crisis, the 12 members took oath in a hurried ceremony while the new Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, a respected economist, said that Gaza will be on the top of his government’s agenda. Hamas captured the whole of Gaza Strip’s security installations in a five-day pitched battle with forces loyal to Abbas. “We are going to work with clean hands, systematically,” Fayyad said. “You are in our hearts, and on the top of our agenda. The dark images, the shameful things that are alien to our traditions — are not going to stop us,” he said. It is “time to work together for Palestine,” he asserted. Fayyad said the new government would work to end the chaos and provide security for the Palestinians. In Gaza, the Prime Minister of the dissolved Palestinian unity government, Ismail Haniyeh, called the new government illegal and insisted he would remain in power. “The steps adopted by President Mahmoud Abbas — have no basis in law,” he said. Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan termed the new government was “illegitimate and illegal” “We will not recognise it. We will not work with it.” Earlier today, Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud issued a decree outlawing the armed groups of Hamas and said its members would be prosecuted. The Palestinian President wrote that he decided to "consider the Executive Unit and the militias of the Hamas movement illegal, due to their military coup against the Palestinian legitimacy and its institutions." "Anyone who is involved in any of these two groups is going to be punished, according to the law and the orders of the state of emergency," the decree said. The Hamas takeover of Gaza spurred attacks on Fatah supporters and leaders. The house of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was also looted. — PTI
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Washington will support
Abbas: US diplomat
Jerusalem, June 17 US Consul General Jacob Walles said Abbas’ government, formed in the wake of Hamas’ seizure of Gaza earlier this week, represents both Gaza and the West Bank, even though "it’s true now that (it) does not have a great ability to influence events in Gaza." Hamas’ takeover has effectively split the Palestinian territories in two — with Abbas’ Fatah movement in charge in the West Bank and Hamas ruling Gaza.
— AP
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War on terror
Washington, June 17 A pair of recent rulings, one from military judges and the other from a US appeals court, delivered new legal setbacks for Bush's tactics in dealing with terrorism suspects held at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or in the United States. ''In case after case, this nation's judicial branch has told the administration that it may not trample on fundamental rights in the name of national security,'' said Hina Shamsi of the New York-based group Human Rights First. A federal appeals court panel in Virginia ruled 2-1 tomorrow that Bush could not declare civilians in this country to be enemy combatants and have the military hold them indefinitely. The ruling said Bush overstepped his authority in the case of a Qatari national and suspected al-Qaeda operative, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who has been held in military custody for four years without any charges. Human rights and civil liberties groups said the decision underscored the importance of judicial review. ''Once again, the courts have stepped in to rein in the executive and restore the rule of law,'' said Jennifer Daskal, US advocacy director of Human Rights Watch. The ruling came a week after military judges dismissed all charges against the only two Guantanamo prisoners facing trial, saying they had been designated only as ''enemy combatants,'' and not ''unlawful enemy combatants'' as required by a 2006 law. There have many other such rulings against the Bush administration in the past three years. Last August, a federal judge in Detroit ruled that Bush's domestic spying programme, adopted after the Sept. 11 attacks, violated free-speech rights, protections against unreasonable searches and the constitutional check on the power of the presidency. Five months later, the administration abandoned the programme and agreed to get court approval for electronic surveillance. It still has appealed the ruling to a US appeals court. The US Supreme Court in three rulings since 2004 has rejected Bush's position in terrorism cases. Bush administration officials predicted the al-Marri decision would be overturned by the full appeals court, which is controlled by conservative judges and has ruled for the administration in at least two other terrorism cases. ''We think the law is on our side in this one,'' one US official said. The official and others said al-Marri trained at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan during the 1990s and entered the United States just before the September 11 attacks as a ''sleeper agent.'' The Pentagon has asked the military judges to reconsider their decisions. If the judges refuse, the administration next could appeal to a military court, they said. A US appeals court in February upheld the law that Bush pushed through the then-Republican-led Congress last year that took away the right of the Guantanamo prisoners to challenge their confinement before US federal judges. With Democrats now in control of Congress, legislation is moving forward that could restore the rights of the approximately 380 prisoners now at Guantanamo to challenge their imprisonment.
— Reuters
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Israel cuts back fuel supplies to Gaza
Jerusalem, June 17 ''Fuel is only being allowed in to power stations in order to provide normal electricity,'' the ministry said in a statement. Fuel will no longer be supplied to smaller gas stations, a Dor Alon spokeswoman said. The company did not provide any figures about the amount of fuel that would be supplied. Dor Alon's decision will make it difficult for many Gaza residents to get the fuel they need for their homes and vehicles. Israeli media said fuel supplies for automobiles could run out within two weeks. Electricity and water supplies were not affected, Israeli officials said. Israeli energy companies provide for about half of Gaza's electricity needs at peak hours. Israel hopes to isolate Gaza after Hamas seized control of the territory in less than a week of fierce factional fighting with President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction. The Western-backed Abbas swore in an emergency cabinet today after sacking a three-month-old unity government he formed with Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in January 2006. Israeli Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, whose office controls fuel supplies, called for a complete separation between the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, where Fatah remains dominant. ''We should simply increase the isolation of Gaza,'' Ben-Eliezer told Israel's Army Radio. ''I want to stop everything until we understand what is going on there.'' Palestinian officials asked Dor Alon not to cut off any more fuel until further notice, the infrastructure ministry said. Israel's deputy defence minister, Efraim Sneh, said Gaza will not be cut off completely. ''There will be a crisis in Gaza because it's being controlled by gangs who show no responsibility to the public. Israel is not (Hamas leader) Ismail Haniyeh's welfare office,'' Sneh said on Israel Radio. Senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said he had asked Israel to allow fuel and raw materials to continue reaching the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza, many of them aid-dependent refugees.
— Reuters
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Near-landslide win for Sarkozy’s allies Paris, June 17 When voting ended, pollster Ipsos-Dell projected Sarkozy’s centre-right allies would win about 340 seats in the National Assembly, well below some pre-vote estimates that up to 470 of their candidates could be elected. It also projected that the Socialist bloc would number 232 in the 577-seat legislature. The surprise results were a relative setback for Sarkozy but the new president will still have the legislative muscle to push ahead with his sweeping tax and labour reforms. “Your participation has resulted in a clear and coherent choice, which will allow the President of the Republic to implement his project,” Prime Minister Francois Fillon. “They also wanted to express doubts and fears concerning the first unfair measures of the government of Francois Fillon,” . Socialist Party leader Francois Hollande said. — Reuters
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Monarchy can be retained: Nepal PM
Kathmandu, June 17 While talking to foreign journalists at his official residence in Baluwatar on Sunday, Koirala said that monarchy could be retained if King Gyanendra and Crown Prince Paras abdicate the throne before the upcoming CA polls scheduled in November. However, Nepali Congress president Koirala said, "If King Gyanendra and his son do not give up the throne before the election the upcoming CA polls will mark an end of Nepal's monarchy," Kantipur Television, a private television channel, reported. Koirala also added that it was up to the King whether to continue with monarchy in the country or not. The Interim Parliament had, under pressure from left-aligned parties on Wednesday, amended the five month old interim constitution authorising the House to abolish monarchy if a two-thirds majority supported the move. A few months ago, while he was on vacation in his hometown in Biratnagar, Koirala had suggested that King Gyanendra step down and the pave the way for the future. He later said there will be space for all in the government. This statement was criticised by left-aligned parties.
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Knighthood for Rushdie
Dubai, June 17 “The decision to honour one of the most disgusted persons in the Islamic societies was a clear proof of Islamophobia among high-ranking British officials,” Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said. Rushdie (59) was issued with a death fatwa by Iran's supreme religious leader late Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 after ‘The Satanic Verses’ offended a section of the Muslims worldwide. Denouncing the award to Rushdie as an act directed against Islam, Hosseini said the knighthood showed that the process of insulting Islamic sanctities was not accidental, but was being supported by some Western countries. “Honoring a hated apostate will definitely put the British statesmen against the Islamic societies because it has once again hurt their (Muslims’) feelings,” the spokesman added. — PTI
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Spaceflight still dangerous: Sunita Houston, June 17 “We take spaceflight for granted and it’s still pretty dangerous,” Williams, who set to return to earth on Thursday after setting a record for the longest uninterrupted space flight by a woman, said at a press conference from space. Atlantis was yesterday given clearance to return to earth next week as the shuttle’s heat shield, which suffered a tear during lift off on Friday, was repaired by mission specialist Danny Olivas. Adding to NASA’s concerns was the failure of computers that control the space station’s ability to orient itself and produce oxygen. But NASA officials said the crew was never in danger of running out of oxygen, power or essentials. “We are living in an environment that is not really friendly for humans.... (The space station is) not just a tourist vacation place. It’s a serious place and we are doing serious business and serious science up here,” said 41-year-old Williams, who began her space journey on December 10. NASA has been sensitive about the space shuttle’s heat shield ever since the Columbia accident killed seven astronauts, including India-born Kalpana Chawla, in 2003. A piece of insulating foam from the shuttle’s external tank came loose during launch, striking Columbia’s wing and allowing fiery gases to penetrate it during re-entry. — PTI
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Fourth spacewalk to repair Atlantis Cape Canaveral, June 17 Patrick Forrester and Steven Swanson left the station's airlock about 12:40 p.m. EDT/1640 GMT to finish work on a rotary joint so a pair of electricity-producing wing panels can track the sun for power. The wings were installed last week during the first spacewalk of Atlantis' 13-day flight. During the installation, the space station's primary computer network crashed, raising concerns that the still-under-construction, $100 billion outpost would have to be temporarily abandoned. The German-built computers were provided to Russia in exchange for equipment to dock Europe's cargo ship, called the Automated Transfer Vehicle, at the station early next year. Russian flight controllers and cosmonauts aboard the station figured out a way to bypass suspect protection circuits and successfully revived the network. The computers control steering rockets that are needed to periodically readjust the station's position in space. NASA wants to make sure the thrusters will kick in to dampen any motion caused when the 100-tonne shuttle detaches and plans a test of the system on Monday. — Reuters
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Shilpa Shetty receives Silver Star Award
London, June 17 Leader of Britain’s House of Commons Jack Straw presented the award to the 31-year old actress at a gala dinner held at the Durbar Court of Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) here last night, as part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of election of Keith Vaz, NRI leader, Labour MP and former minister for FCO. In her brief acceptance speech, Shetty, the winner of last Celebrity Big Brother show, said Vaz played an important role when she was racially abused by some of the contestants. “He screamed the loudest,” she acknowledged. Lauding the work of Vaz both for the Asian community and the society as a whole, Straw, who was the Guest of Honour, said “Keith has worked assiduously as an ambassador for New Britain. Keith represents everything that is good in our party.” Straw, Campaign Manager for Gordon Brown before he was unanimously elected leader of the Labour party to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair, said Vaz, as a member of the campaign cell, played a key role in ensuring Brown’s unanimous choice. Observing that Britain had undergone a change for the better during the last 20 years, Straw said “now we celebrate diversity in this country and we judge the people by what they can offer and not by the colour of their eye, hair or skin.” “One person, who has symbolised and is responsible to a great degree for making Britain a better place is Keith Vaz. We love you and we admire you. You are a great guy,” Straw said. The glittering function was held at Durbar Court with a unique tabla performance at the imposing Locarno Suite by Zakir Hussain. It was attended by leading dignitaries including G P Hinduja, president of the Hinduja Group, Sir Gulam Noon, chief of Noon products, Naresh Goyal, chairman of Jet Airways, leading NRI entrepreneur and hotelier Joginder Sangar, leading NRI hotelier in the USA, Mike Patel, Lord Navnit Dholakia, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Abubakr Abdulla Al Quirbi, Foreign Minister of Yemen, NRI industrialists G S Gujral, Rami Ranger and actor Upen Patel. — PTI
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BBC scribe to be freed today: Hamas
Tehran, June 17 The statement by Abu Osameh al-Mo’ti, representative of the Palestinian Islamist group in Iran, came after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip last week in a surge of factional fighting with rival group Fatah. A Hamas official in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, was more cautious about the possibility of Johnston being freed, saying that while intensive efforts were being made for his release, it could not be predicted in terms of hours. In Tehran, Mo’ti said Hamas was in negotiations with those holding Johnston but did not specify how he knew the British journalist would be freed. He suggested Hamas knew both who the abductors were and where Johnston was being held, adding the 45-year-old British journalist was in good health. “The BBC journalist will be released within the next hours, today,” he told reporters in Tehran, speaking through an interpreter. “We are negotiating to solve the issue peacefully,” he said. “We asked them to release him without any conditions.” Johnston, the only Western correspondent based full-time in Gaza, was seized on March 12. Fighting among militants in Gaza has worsened living conditions for the 1.4 million people crammed into the territory. His abductors, a little-known group called the Army of Islam, issued a video of him on June 1 in which he said he was being treated well, although it was not known when the tape was made. Hamas said on Friday it was in an advanced stage of negotiations over Johnston’s release, a statement that Abu Zuhri repeated today.
— Reuters
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Yavlinsky may run for presidentship
Moscow, June 17 The ruling body of the Yabloko party, which backs democratic values and free-market policies, put forward Yavlinsky yesterday as its candidate for the March 2008 elections. Yavlinsky, 55, said the final decision would be made at a party conference and that other candidates from the party may also want to run for president, though he declined to name them, Interfax reported. Yavlinsky, a former deputy prime minister, has accused Putin of rolling back democracy and making elections a Kremlin show. The Kremlin says elections are free and fair. Putin says he will step down in 2008 after two four-year terms in office. By far the country’s most popular politician, he has not yet said who he would like to become president. Yabloko, once a key player in Russian politics, has lost much of its influence during Putin’s presidency. Yavlinsky won 7.4 per cent of the vote in the first round of 1996 presidential elections, and 5.8 per cent of the vote in the 2000 presidential poll. He did not take part in 2004 elections.
— Reuters
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Solving puzzles boosts brain power New York, June 17 It could also help those who have increased risks of developing memory disorders later in life, says Jennifer Mozolic, a student at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, who studied 23 people aged 65-75. The preliminary findings of the study found that eight (weekly one-hour) attention-training sessions improved the ability of people to block out distractions and concentrate, reported health portal Health Central — IANS
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