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ISI has no links with LeT: Zardari
‘Detained JuD leaders could
be let off’
Pak acted on UN resolution, not under Indian pressure: Gilani
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35 Taliban militants killed in ‘clean-up’: Afghan general
Russian beauty is Miss World 2008
Book on British Raj ‘memsahibs’ released at Cambridge
Monroe’s iconic photos to go under hammer
Thai Democrat Party ready to regain power
India must frame clear migration policy, say lawyers
Naipaul kin murdered in Pak
Navy earns praise for tackling pirates
Greece calm after 8 days of riots
Bush makes farewell visit to Iraq
Lord Paul in EU select panel
Iran shuns Paris meet on Afghanistan: Source
Israel to free 227 Palestinian prisoners: Report
52 die in Egypt bus crash
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ISI has no links with LeT: Zardari
New York, December 14 “We are talking about an age-old situation. This is something (that happened) in the old days when dictators used to run the country. May be before 9/11 that may have been a position. But since then, things have changed to a great extent,” Zardari said in an interview to 'Newsweek'. There is no supportive interaction between Pakistani intelligence and the Lashkar, which is a banned organisation in Pakistan, he claimed. Describing Pakistan's people and government as the “net losers” of the situation arising out of the Mumbai attack, Zardari has said his country had put in “a lot of effort” for good relations with India, which were now witnessing heightened tensions. Pakistan needs real-time intelligence support from other countries to move faster against terrorists, he said, adding that many of those now saying that they knew about the possibility of the Mumbai attack never shared the information with Islamabad. “I've heard that the Russians told the Indians (about Mumbai attacks), but I wish the Russians had also shared it with us,” Zardari said. Asked whether he would do something if all terrorists involved in the Mumbai strikes were found to be trained in Pakistan, he replied, “definitely.”
— PTI
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‘Detained JuD leaders could be let off’
Islamabad, December 14 The federal government asked the government of Punjab province to detain seven top Jamaat-ud-Dawa leaders. Of them, five were put under preventive detention while the others would be netted shortly, provincial police chief Shaukat Javed said. The two leaders, who were yet to be detained had gone to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj, he said. However, he told The News daily that detained leaders would be freed if no evidence of their involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks is received from India. Pakistan launched a crackdown on the Jamaat after the group was declared a front for the LeT by a UN Security Council panel, which also put four LeT leaders, including founder Hafiz Mohammed Saeed and suspected Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, on a list of terrorists subject to sanctions. Saeed and other top Jamaat leaders are among those who have been detained across Pakistan since the clampdown began on December 11. Javed also said all schools and colleges run by the Jamaat would be allowed to function normally but not under the control of the banned group. They would work under the supervision of other bodies to be formed by provincial governments so that students did not suffer, he said. — PTI
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Pak acted on UN resolution, not under Indian pressure: Gilani
Lahore, December 14 Gilani indicated that his government had cracked down on the Jamaat because it was binding for all nations to act on a UN Security Council resolution that had declared the group as a front for the LeT. “We have acted on the UN resolution, it is not a matter of our desire. Our investigations are on and we can’t say anything before they are completed,” he said. “This is a UN resolution, it was not done by India,” Gilani said, adding that the world body’s resolution dated back to 2001-02. The Prime Minister said Pakistan would act in accordance with its own laws on any evidence provided by India with regards to the terror strikes in Mumbai. “We have not received any evidence (from India). If they give us evidence, Pakistan will act according to its own laws,” said Raza. Referring to visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s statement asking Pakistan to cooperate with India in probing the Mumbai incident, Gilani said the matter could be pursued once New Delhi provided evidence to Islamabad.
— PTI
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35 Taliban militants killed in ‘clean-up’: Afghan general
Kabul, December 14 General Muhaidin Ghori, army commander for southern Afghanistan, said the militants had been killed in an ongoing joint NATO and Afghan security forces operation launched on Thursday in Helmand province. “We cleared Nad Ali district of Taliban presence,” the general said, adding the 35 dead Taliban included three rebel commanders. “There was no casualty for NATO and Afghan forces. Check-points have been set up in the area and we will not leave until government control is fully established,” he added. Ghulam Mangal, the provincial governor's spokesman, said the operation was to “provide ground for the upcoming election and voter registration”. Afghanistan is to hold presidential elections in 2009. “We’ll extend it to other districts in Helmand where Taliban have a presence,” the spokesman added. “Afghan security forces will also prevent poppy cultivation from the areas that have been cleaned.” Helmand sees some of the worst of the Taliban's insurgency and most of its districts are said to be under the control of the rebels. The province is also Afghanistan's primary opium-growing region. The Taliban, who were in power from 1996 to late 2001, have waged a bloody insurgency against Afghan and international forces under NATO and US command. Meanwhile, armed Taliban militants abducted six musicians and an election worker in eastern Afghanistan, one of whom was later found dead, a local official said today. The body of one musician was found today, one day after the group was kidnapped in Paktika province, said provincial spokesman Hameedullah Jowak.
— AFP
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Russian beauty is Miss World 2008
Johannesburg, December 14 The 21-year-old Parvathy, who hails from Kottayam in Kerala, finished first runner-up and failed to join five Indian glamour queens Reita Faria (1966), Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan (1994), Diana Hayden (1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999) and Priyanka Chopra (2000) who had won the title. This was the first time in eight years that an Indian reached the finals of the Miss World competition. Parvathy said she was happy that she could go this far in the contest but was disappointed a little at not having won the crown. The second runner-up was Gabriel Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago. — PTI
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Book on British Raj ‘memsahibs’ released at Cambridge
London, December 14 Compiled by Mary Thatcher, the anthology is titled “Respected Memsahibs”, and draws on the letters, memoirs and narratives of the 19 women available in the archives of the university's Centre of South Asian Studies. The collection forms an exceptional record of life and work in the last days of the British Raj. Thatcher was the Centre’s first Archivist. With funding from the Ford Foundation, St John’s College and the Smuts Memorial Fund, she was commissioned in 1967 to begin a search for archival material which was otherwise in danger of being lost. Her brief was to focus on ordinary British men and women who worked in India, either in the Civil Service or its associated governmental concerns, those who lived in the princely states, or were in the private sector, or served as missionaries or teachers. The resulting trawl of families who had returned to Britain after Independence has resulted in an archive of international importance and renown. The director of the Centre, Professor Sir Christopher Bayly said: “The archive is unique and was ahead of its time in the sort of material collected and preserved. With a combination of tact, persistence and charm, Miss Thatcher assembled an amazing collection of private papers, photographs, cine film and other material objects. “To this was added, in due course, over 300 recorded interviews. Miss Thatcher was particularly interested in the lives of women and in many cases asked them to write more substantial memoirs of their time in India.” The current Archivist at the Centre, Dr Kevin Greenbank, said: “It is a pleasure to work with such a wonderful collection. We have inquiries from all over the world and use has been made of the archive in several recent TV films. I am delighted that Miss Thatcher's Anthology is now published.” The Centre of South Asian Studies was established in 1964. Several leading academics and professionals from India and south Asia have delivered seminars at the Centre. The centre was previously directed by Mumbai-origin Raj Chandavarkar, Fellow of Trinity College, who passed away in April 2006.
— PTI
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Monroe’s iconic photos to go under hammer
New York, December 14 Christie’s auctioneers describe the collection as the largest to come to market. Other works by celebrated photographers such as Helmut Newton will also be on the block at the auction on December 16 and 17. The Monroe images include a series shot by photographers such as Garry Winogrand as Monroe laughed and fought to keep her white dress under control while standing, legs spread, over a subway vent. Also featured with an estimate of $10,000 to 15,000 is Tom Kelley’s 1949 Monroe nude, which appeared in Playboy’s premier issue. Most poignant, though, are photos revealing the original 20th century sex symbol’s transformation from the pretty girl next door to the hounded celebrity and her eventual suicide. A photo taken on Long Island near New York by Andre de Dienes in 1949, priced between $3,000 and $5,000, captures the fresh-faced enthusiasm of the aspiring model then known as Norma Jeane Baker. Richard Avedon’s 1957 portrait, estimated to sell between $25,000 and $35,000, shows a different Monroe. A black sequined dress sets off her glamorous sex appeal, but her face appears lost and
vulnerable. Philippe Garner, international head at the Christie’s photography department, said this portrait illustrates “a person in a state of psychological confusion about who they are and what society expects them to be.”
— AFP
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Thai Democrat Party ready to regain power
Bangkok, December 14 The Democrat Party, which has not been in power for eight years, is confident it has the support of enough lawmakers to elect its Oxford-educated leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, as the country’s new Prime Minister. But parties loyal to the legacy of disgraced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also claim to have enough votes to name their candidate, former national police chief Pracha Promnok, to the top spot. Thaksin’s allies have led a coalition government since December 2007 general election and are currently grouped under the banner of the Phuea Thai Party. The expected lower house vote comes after months of instability caused by anti-government demonstrations that culminated late last month with a weeklong takeover of Bangkok’s two airports. The protest movement seeks to purge politics of the influence of Thaksin, who was ousted by a 2006 coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power, and has threatened new but unspecified activities if Parliament elects a leader with links to him. Thaksin now lives in exile, having fled Thailand ahead of an October conviction on a conflict of interest charge. But he continues to play an active role in politics, and yesterday night Thaksin gave a prerecorded video speech to a rally of more than 40,000 of his supporters who gathered at a stadium in central Bangkok.
— AP
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India must frame clear migration policy, say lawyers
London, December 14 Emphasising at a conference on “The Future of Migration” held at Wilton Park in West Sussex by Indian representatives Anil Malhotra and his brother Ranjit Malhotra, leading Chandigarh-based Supreme Court lawyers. In a paper presented at the three-day conference, they noted that besides a substantial outbound immigration, “India now has a noticeable inward return migration.” “Regardless0, India learning from its experience of other nations needed to consolidate its inputs and frame a clear migration policy both to determine its inflow and check its outflow.” They identified four specific areas - framing of a Uniform Federal Law, inaction of consolidated work permit regime, awareness about illegal immigration and establishing duly managed migration channels as remedies to check thriving illegal immigration business. Anil Malhotra said last night the delegates attached a lot of importance to remittance and repatriation of funds from migrants to their parent countries. “There was a clear thought of trail and linkage on this aspect of the matter, and it seem to run in a consistent pattern like the Great Wall of China, throughout the entire conference,” Malhotra said. At the same time masses must be educated to find self-employment with the education in India. About 70 delegates from 35 countries, including USA, UK, China, Canada and India, attended the conference covering issues relating to migration policies, themes, perceptions, perspectives, trends and its future policy options.
— PTI
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Naipaul kin murdered in Pak
London, December 14 Major-General Faisal Alavi, a former head of Pakistan’s special forces who was murdered last month in Islamabad, had named two generals in a letter to Pakistani army chief Ashfaq Kayani and had said he would “furnish all relevant proof,” the report said. Alavi, brother of Naipaul’s wife Nadira, did not live to fulfil it. Aware that he was risking his life, Alavi gave a copy of the proof to a Sunday Times correspondent and asked him to publish it if he was killed. Four days later, he was driving through Islamabad when his car was ambushed by another vehicle. At least two gunmen opened fire from either side, shooting him eight times, killing him and his driver, the paper said. As demands grew for a full investigation into Alavi’s murder on November 18, Lady Naipaul described her brother as “a soldier to his toes”. “He was an honourable man and the world was a better place when he was in it,” she said. Three years ago, Alavi, highly regarded by the UK’s Special Air Service (SAS), was mysteriously sacked as head of Pakistan’s Special Services Group (SSG), for “conduct unbecoming”. The generals had cooked up a “mischievous and deceitful plot” to have him sacked because they knew he would expose them, Alavi told Kayani in the letter. “The entire purpose of this plot by these general officers was to hide their own involvement in a matter they knew I was privy to,” Alavi wrote. Wanting an inquiry, he further wrote, “I will furnish all relevant proof/information, which is readily available with me.”
— PTI
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Navy earns praise for tackling pirates
Dubai, December 14 The National daily in Abu Dhabi carried the report with photo while the Khaleej Times and the Gulf News also gave prominent coverage to the incident. Indian diplomacy has not succeeded enough to project India’s military and technological prowess despite the feats like Chandrayaan which did not get the publicity it deserved in the region, analysts said. The first incident where the Indian Navy sunk a pirate mothership had got equally good publicity and much encomium in the media here which only grudgingly gives positive coverage to India. In fact, the countries in the West Asia, with the exception of Iran and Israel, have no naval teeth to talk about. Many depend on the US Fifth Fleet for naval security. About 11 per cent of the world’s seaborne petroleum passes through the Gulf of Aden en route to the Suez Canal or regional refineries. More than 16,000 merchant ships also pass through the Gulf of Aden. But now many ship owners are considering the longer route via Cape of Good Hope because of the pirate threat. Some newspapers wrote editorials praising India for its naval clout and stepping in, when even the European countries who had higher stakes were dilly dallying. The Indian Navy destroyer INS Mysore yesterday arrested 23 pirates who attempted to hijack an Ethiopian vessel some 160 nautical miles off the Yemeni port of Aden.
— UNI
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Greece calm after 8 days of riots
Athens, December 14 In Athens, traffic returned to normal in the centre of town and an open-topped double-decker bus carried tourists round the city’s main sights. Greek youths, who have protested daily since the boy’s death, are angry not just at the police but at an increasingly unpopular government and over economic issues. Several hundred protesters set up burning barricades and attacked police with rocks and flares. Riot police fired tear gas and chased the youths through parts of the city. The protesters chanted “murderers out” and used laser pointers to target officers for attack. Violence had rocked Greece every day since the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. The riots in cities throughout the country have left at least 70 people injured. Hundreds of stores have been smashed and looted, and more than 200 people have been arrested.
While most of the protesters have been peaceful, the tone of the demonstrations has been set by a violent fringe. And more young people have been willing to join those fringe elements than in the past.
— AP
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Bush makes farewell visit to Iraq
Baghdad, December 14 The White House said Bush had come to meet Iraqi leaders, thank the troops and celebrate a new security agreement. This is Bush's fourth visit to Iraq since US-led troops toppled the regime of President Saddam Hussein in April 2003. The visit comes after Iraq approved a status of forces agreement with the US, which calls for the withdrawal of all US troops by the end of 2011. Last month's deal also set June 30, 2009, as the deadline for “the withdrawal of combat forces from the cities, villages, and localities.” It will govern the presence of 146,000 US troops stationed in more than 400 bases when their UN mandate expires at the end of the year, giving the Iraqi government veto power over virtually all of their operations. Bush arrived a day ahead of US defence secretary Robert Gates surprise visit to the country. Gates, who president-elect Barack Obama has picked to stay on at the Pentagon, stressed the new administration's commitment to the region. Gates held talks with the top US commander in Iraq, General Raymond Odierno, who on Saturday said US troops would stay in Iraqi cities in a support and training role even after the June target date. — AFP
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London, December 14 The committee has the power to appoint sub-committees and to refer to them any matters within its terms of reference and also appoint specialist advisers. Lord Paul, founder and chairman of the multinational company Caparo, the UK-based steel and engineering group with an annual turnover of £1.5 billion, is the first Indian, or for that matter the first Asian, to be appointed as deputy speaker of the House of Lords, though people of Indian origin have held ministerial berths in the British Cabinet. — PTI
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Iran shuns Paris meet on Afghanistan: Source
Paris, December 14 French-Iranian relations were strained this week after the foreign ministry in Tehran summoned the French ambassador to express the Islamic republic’s “strong objections to the recent interfering comments by the French President.” Sarkozy said it was “impossible for me to shake hands with someone who has dared to say Israel should be wiped off the map,” and that he would not “sit at the same table” as his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Paris conference on Afghanistan is expected to try to persuade the states around the country, in particular Pakistan and Iran, to play a more positive role in supporting Kabul’s attempts to regain control. — AFP
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Israel to free 227 Palestinian prisoners: Report
Jerusalem, December 14 The radio said 217 of the prisoners would be sent home to the West Bank and another 10 to the Gaza Strip, although none are members of the Islamist movement Hamas, which Israel considers a terrorist group. Israel’s Cabinet last month approved the release as a gesture to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and it was initially due to take place to mark the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha last week before being delayed. Olmert told Abbas at their last meeting in November of his plan to release 250 prisoners, but a government committee last Sunday approved a list of only 230 names.
— AFP
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52 die in Egypt bus crash
Bahrut (Egypt), December 14 “Fifty-two bodies have been recovered,” the official told AFP, adding that 10 passengers were taken to hospital with injuries. Many university students were among the dead, and rescue workers were searching the waters of the Ibrahimiya canal for survivors and victims, the official said. At least 20 ambulances rushed to the crash site along with local residents offering their help after the accident near the village of Bahrut, about 200 km south of Cairo. All dead had drowned before they could be reached by rescue workers, said a hospital official.
— AFP
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India’s Parvathy finishes first runner-up
