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KGB Murder
Russia promises to retaliate
Top Al-Qaida leaders hiding in Pak: US intelligence
Defamatory Documentary |
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Unesco slams new 7 wonders
Highway to Himalayas Suicide blasts
kill seven US Senate meeting opens with Hindu prayers
Wigs off for civil, family judges
Lesbian, ex-prez in Japan poll
NRI Jackpot winner to open college
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UK poised to expel Russian diplomats
London, July 12 The Foreign Office and Downing Street are preparing to send a strong signal to the Kremlin following its refusal to hand over Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB agent suspected of murdering Litvinenko last November. With bilateral ties plunging to a new low in the post Cold war era, Russian prosecutors on Monday formally announced that Lugovoi would not be extradited to the UK saying that Russia's Constitution does not allow it. The British government is now considering counter measures to show its extreme displeasure at the Kremlin's decision, and the seriousness with which it takes the "terrible" murder of Litvinenko - a British citizen and fierce critic of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The options include the possible expulsion of Russian diplomats from the London embassy, and the withdrawal of cooperation in several areas, including education, trade and counter-terrorism. According to the Daily Telegraph, the expulsions would be reminiscent of former cold war rows between Moscow and London and almost certainly prompt a similar retaliation by the Kremlin. A spokesman for Gordon Brown said Britain was reviewing its "range of cooperation" with Russia, and the Foreign Office will move officially to cool relations in the next few days. — PTI
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Russia promises to retaliate
Moscow:
Russia today promised to retaliate against possible expulsion of its diplomats by Britain over Moscow's refusal to extradite a key suspect in the sensational murder of KGB defector and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko last year.
"Of course, we will not leave it without a response," an unnamed top official was quoted as saying by Interfax. A top official said aggravating ties with Russia in the cold war style is not the best way for the British Cabinet to address "domestic political considerations". Meanwhile, Andrei Lugovoi had pointed a finger at British MI-6.
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Top Al-Qaida leaders hiding in Pak: US intelligence
Al-Qaida, guided by its top leaders hiding in Pakistan, poses the "greatest threat" to US interests, according to a senior US intelligence official. Dr. Thomas Fingar, deputy director of national intelligence, told the congressional committee on Wednesday that the USA has captured or killed numerous senior Al-Qaida operatives, "but we also have seen that Al-Qaida's core elements are resilient." "They continue to plot attacks against our homeland and other targets with a view to inflicting mass casualties. They continue to maintain active connections and relationships which radiate outward from their leaders hiding in Pakistan to affiliates throughout West Asia, North and East Africa, and Europe," Fingar said. He admitted "aggressive military action" against extremists in Pakistan had been costly for that country's security forces and had caused the government concern over the potential for tribal rebellion and a backlash by sympathetic Islamic political parties. "With tribal opposition to the US military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq widespread and elections expected later this year, the situation will become even more challenging-for President Musharraf and for the US," he added. Talking about Pakistan's relations with India, Fingar said the three-year peace process had reduced tensions in the region and both sides appear committed to improving the bilateral relationship. "The Mumbai train bombings last year disrupted, but ultimately did not derail, the composite dialogue and a mechanism for exchanging information on terrorist attacks has been established," he noted. But, Fingar pointed out, New Delhi's concern about terrorist attacks on the Indian soil remained a dominant theme in relations, and risks derailing rapprochement. India and Pakistan both possess nuclear weapons but they do not appear to be engaged in a Cold War-style arms race based on a quest for numerical superiority, the official said. Talking about India's economic growth, he said the USA expects that India's "growing confidence on the world stage as a result of its sustained high rates of economic growth will make New Delhi a more effective partner for the USA but also a more formidable interlocutor in areas of disagreement, particularly in the World Trade Organisation." New Delhi will continue to be a "reliable ally against global terrorism, given the fact that India is a major target for Islamic extremists, in part because of the insurgency in Kashmir," he said.
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Sikhs sue Canadian broadcaster for $110 m
Toronto, July 12 The lawsuit filed by the World Sikh Organisation (WSO) on Tuesday also named CBC reporter Terry Milewski and Legislator Ujjal Dosanjh for comments they made in the June 28, 2007 documentary titled "Samosa Politics" that was aired on the television. The organisation alleged that the documentary contained several factual misrepresentations, The Star reported. "It is the WSO's view that the CBC documentary contained significant and numerous factual misrepresentations," said Gian Singh Sandhu, a policy adviser with the group's Canadian body. "The WSO's lawsuit for defamation, libel and slander arises from the airing of the documentary," he added. The WSO, founded in 1984, works with a number of Sikh societies and organisations which represent Canada's entire Sikh community of about 400,000. Sandhu said the CBC's attempt to link the WSO to violence and extremism is dishonest and highly offensive. "I was totally awed, shocked and flabbergasted when I saw the documentary. Nor was the organisation ever contacted to comment for the documentary," he added. "They should have had the courtesy of calling." Meanwhile, Jeff Keay, a spokesman for the CBC, said the public broadcaster was unaware of the lawsuit and was standing behind its story. "If and when we receive a lawsuit from the WSO, we'll give it appropriate consideration," Keay said. — IANS
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Paris, July 12 Once again, the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has slammed an elite list, "based on the media and lacking coherent arguments." The governments of France and Egypt, two countries with many sites that are worth being included among the chosen ones, also disagree. "France shares the stance of the Unesco, which has included 851 sites in the list of world humankind heritage sites," including 31 on French territory, said foreign ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani. The Unesco stressed in a press release that it has "a very broad vision of heritage", in which it does not include monuments alone, as in the case of the Seven Wonders contest. The UN concept covers broader areas such as urban centres, man made landscapes or natural environments. Christian Manhart, of the Unesco's World Heritage Centre, denounced the media nature of the contest launched by Swiss movie maker and museum curator Bernard Weber, whom he accused of conveying a "negative message to countries whose sites have not been retained." — NNN-Prensa Latina
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Highway to Himalayas Beijing, July 12 "We want to develop both tourism and environment. But when we have to choose between the two, environment will be our first priority," chairman of national tourism administration, Shao Qiwei, told a group of visiting Indian journalists. Brushing aside allegations that China cared little about the environment when it comes to implementing state interests, Shao argued environment itself was important to attract tourism in China. "If we do not protect our environment, we cannot expect to attract tourists here."
— PTI
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Miranshah (Pakistan), July 12 Today, a suicide bomb attack on the office of the top government official in the North Waziristan tribal region killed two people, a witness wounded in the blast said. But according to a hospital doctor two of Khan's staff was killed, while a guest and an office worker were wounded. “A man dressed in black blew himself up when he was stopped by an office worker in Khan's office,'' Sher Zaman said. Another suicide attack targeted a police vehicle in Swat town. The blast killed five, including three policemen.
— Reuters
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US Senate meeting opens with Hindu prayers
Washington, July 12 Hindu priest Rajan Zed, Director of Public Affairs and Interfaith Relations of Hindu Temple in Northern Nevada, recited the prayers. This is the first time since the Senate's inception in 1789 that a Hindu prayer was said in the House and showed recognition of the growing influence of the Indian-American community. All its sessions open with a prayer generally recited by its chaplain. Zed, the first Hindu to offer the Senate prayer, began with the prayer and as the Senate prepared for another day of debate over the Iraq war, Zed closed with, “Peace, peace, peace be unto all.”
— PTI
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Wigs off for civil, family judges
London, July 12 The judges will also wear the same gowns throughout the year, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers announced. Britain’s judges and lawyers have worn horsehair wigs of tight, white curls since the 17th century. In the family civil courts, the judges and lawyers will not only go without wigs, but will dispense with wing collars. The government will save about 300,000 pounds a year by simplifying court dress. — AP
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Lesbian, ex-prez in Japan poll
Tokyo, July 12 They include a lesbian, an indigenous Ainu, an HIV-positive haemophiliac, a government official tasked with handling the issue of North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals, a second-generation Korean resident, and a former president of another country. Kanako Otsuji, a 32-year-old lesbian fielded by the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, began campaigning near Tokyo’s busy J.R. Shinjuku station and said, “I would like to create a ‘rainbow-coloured’ society from Shinjuku where sexual minorities gather and are accepted as they are.” — Kyodo
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NRI Jackpot winner to open college
Dubai, July 12 Elamurugu Soupramanien won the Ahli United Bank's 500,000 Bahraini Dinar ($1,329,783) grand prize last week. He will receive BHD 2,000 ($5319) every month for the next 20 years, courtesy the bank's MyHassad savings scheme. The father of two believes the prize came as an answer to his prayers after his dream to open a college seemed to be collapsing, the Gulf Daily News reported. "I applied to Bahrain's Education Ministry last month for a licence to start a university college in Bahrain," he said. Soupramanien set up the Indian Academy in 2005 jointly with his wife Gunavathy, who is an engineer. The institute offers private coaching to secondary school students.
— IANS
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