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120 rebels killed in clashes: Lankan army
Israelis consider India ‘second home’
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Shoe-throwing Iraqi attention-seeker: US
Obama formally elected 44th US President
Sikhs challenge French turban ban before UN
We won’t allow British sleuths to question suspects: Gilani Brown’s message: Act ‘decisively’
JuD men go into hiding Non-state actors our responsibility: Zardari CNN: India had prepared for strike on Pak Keep on cooperating with India, Islamabad told
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120 rebels killed in clashes: Lankan army
Colombo, December 16 He said 25 soldiers were killed and 10 of them were missing in the battle on Kilinochchi front where 120 Tamil Tiger rebels were also killed in fierce clashes. Nanayakkara said a further 162 government soldiers and an estimated 250 Tamil Tigers were also wounded in today fierce clashes along several LTTE defence lines. The pro-LTTE Tamilnet.com website, however, said at least 40 Lankan troops were killed and another 120 wounded in the Jaffna peninsula alone. “More than 40 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and at least 120 soldiers wounded on Tuesday morning when the (LTTE) repulsed an offensive push by the army along the forward defence line in Ki'laali,” LTTE officials in Vanni were quoted as saying by the TamilNet today. The Sri Lankan troops have established control over a strategic supply route that will restrict LTTE links with a vital township in Mullaittivu as the military faced stiff resistence to take control of Kilinochchi, 330-km from capital Colombo, the army said. The advancing 59 Division troops who are making effective inroads towards the LTTE’s eastern coastal garrison township have taken control over a 3-km vital road stretch along the Oddusudan-Mullaittivu (A-34) road following intense battles with the militants yesterday, the defence ministry said. — Agencies
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Israelis consider India ‘second home’
Tel Aviv, December 16 “About nine years ago I went to India for study and the family where I stayed then treated me like a child returning home. I was moved by their hospitality,” Patrick told the gathering of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) fellows in chaste Hindi. While narrating his experience in India, Dudu “Natraj” Cohen, an accomplished Odissi dancer, told PTI on the occasion, "there is a growing interest in Indian classical dances in Israel and I am glad that I can pursue my love for the art. I have started to teach local India enthusiasts Odissi and they have lovingly given me the nickname ‘Natraj’. He went to India on an ICCR scholarship and continued to learn Odissi for six years, majoring in the dance form. With sitar’s popularity among young India lovers in Israel visible, Ron Erez’s recital evoked queries regarding music schools in India from several enthusiasts. Among those present at the event included India's Ambassador to Israel Navtej Sarna who said “extended stay in a country as a student is an intense experience. One carries away with him something deep.....the shared experience can transform into actual bonds on which one can build a strong relationship.” — PTI
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Shoe-throwing Iraqi attention-seeker: US
Washington, December 16 “There is no way of knowing what the motivation of the individual was - he was obviously trying to get attention for himself,” state department spokesman Robert Wood said yesterday. “This was one incident and one individual’s views, but if you look at the direction we are heading in Iraq now, it’s a very positive direction and we hope to see that continue,” he said. Journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi jumped up as Bush was holding a press conference on Sunday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and shouted: “It is the farewell kiss, you dog” before throwing two shoes at the US leader, who ducked and missed being hit. The Iraqi government branded Zaidi’s actions as “shameful” and demanded an apology from his Cairo-based employer. But elsewhere in the Arab world, Zaidi was praised for showing how Iraqis and other Arabs hate Bush, who ordered the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Wood said the shoe-throwing incident overlooked the good work the US had carried out in Iraq and did not represent all Iraqis’ feelings towards the US. Hundreds of Iraqis joined anti-US demonstrations to protest Bush’s visit to Iraq.
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Obama formally elected 44th US President
Richmond (US), December 16 Electors gathering across the country have pushed Obama above the 270 electoral votes needed to win, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Obama takes office on January 20. Yesterday's voting was largely a ceremonial procedure, but one mandated by the constitution. Obama defeated Republican Senator John McCain in the November 4 elections. More than 131 million voters had cast their ballots - the most ever in a presidential election. But Obama's election will not be complete until Congress tallies the outcome of yesterday's Electoral College vote at a joint session scheduled for January 6.
— AP
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Sikhs challenge French turban ban before UN
United Nations, December 16 The petition by the United Sikhs' lawyers was filed yesterday on behalf of three Sikhs, who alleged that they were being denied the right to wear a turban, which is the basic feature of their religion. The three Sikhs, on whose behalf the petition has been filed, include Bikramjit Singh, who was expelled from school for refusing to remove his turban. Senior citizen Ranjit Singh, who cannot access public health services without a ration card, for which French authorities allegedly asked him to remove his turban to get himself photographed for the card, has also filed the petition to the UN human rights body. Shingara Mann Singh, aged 52, too filed the petition as his identity documents renewals have been denied because he refused to remove his turban for his ID photos. "The three cases, before the UNHRC, will be the first such cases before the UN since France passed a law in March 2004, banning the wearing of religious symbols, including the Sikh turban, in public schools," said Kuldeep Singh, director, United Sikhs. Addressing a press conference here, Mejindarpal Kaur, legal director of the United Sikhs said that through the three petitions, the Sikh community is urging the UN to deliver the rights of Sikhs living in France under Articles 2, 17, 12, 18, and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). "Under the ICCPR, France may restrict these fundamental rights on only the most compelling grounds, and may do so only so far as absolutely necessary. We submit that France has not made out a compelling case for denying a Sikh the right to wear a turban," she added. Addressing the conference through telephone, Bikramjit Singh exuded confidence that the French government would realise the genuine demand of the Sikhs. He was expelled with two other Sikh schoolboys, Jasvir Singh and Ranjit, whose cases were filed by the United Sikhs lawyers before the European Court of Human Rights in May 2008. The case was, however, dismissed by the court last month. "By doing so, the court sent a signal to 25 million Sikhs globally that their religion was not welcome in France. We hope that the UN will say otherwise in support of religious freedom in France," Kaur said. — IANS
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We won’t allow British sleuths to question suspects: Gilani Pakistan will not allow access to British investigators to question suspects detained during the recent countrywide swoop on individuals and organisations declared terrorists by the UN Security Council over the Mumbai terrorist attacks, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani told the national Assembly here. Discounting the impression articulated by many lawmakers that the government was being apologetic and defensive, the Pakistani premier further said that Pakistan wants peace with India. "But if war is imposed on us, we will give [a] befitting response ... the nation, the army and the political leadership is united, and we can defend our national sovereignty", he said. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown addressing a joint news conference with President Asif Zardari on Sunday said he has asked Pakistan to let British investigators question the suspects detained by Pakistani authorities. Gilani said he has made it clear to Mr. Brown and others that if evidence is provided, Pakistani will prosecute all those who have being accused of complicity in the Mumbai attacks under the law of Pakistan. Opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and several other lawmakers took strong exception to the tough language used by Brown and other western leaders with top Pakistani leadership during their visits here and called for a firm and resolute stance not to bow down to intimidation. Gilani also made it clear that the welfare activities of Jamaat-ud-Dawah's ' and other banned outfits would not be blocked, as "thousands of people are benefitting from them". He, however, said the government would keep strict tab on these activities. "We condemn terrorism wherever it is ... terrorists have no principles, religion, faith, boundaries or scruples," he said. The Pakistani premier appreciated that the leadership on both sides of the political divide had demonstrated unity and determination to stand united in protecting the interests, security and sovereignty of both the countries. Gilani said he had also called several world leaders in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, and they in turn spoke with the Indian leaders to tell the neighbour that they "fully support Pakistan". The opposition criticised India for 'trying to destabilise Pakistan' after the attacks, and said Pakistan's response should be 'stern'. Makhdoom Javed Hashmi of the PML-N assured the government that the nation would support it on issues related to national security. Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat of the PML-Q said it was because of the government's 'foreign policy failure' that India was threatening Pakistan.
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Brown’s message: Act ‘decisively’
London, December 16 Brown, who made a statement in the House of Commons last night after returning from a whirlwind tour of the subcontinent, said Islamabad must ensure that those terrorists who operated from its soil to attack India were “properly rooted out” and their training camps closed down. “We have offered our support to the democratically elected Government in Pakistan but that government must act rapidly and decisively against terror networks based on its soil,” Brown said. — PTI
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Islamabad, December 16 Police in Rawalpindi have confined top Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) leader Col Nazir Ahmed (Retd) to his residence in Chaklala for three months as part of the ongoing clampdown on the front organisation of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, blamed for the Mumbai attacks. An official report accessed by the 'Daily Times' showed that 40 wanted JuD activists, belonging to Rawalpindi and nearby areas, were named in the document. However, police succeeded in detaining only Ahmed, a close aide of Saeed. The 39 JuD activists who remained untraced belong to Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Attock and Chakwal. The police have also sealed five JuD offices in Rawalpindi, Jhelum and Attock. Following the crackdown, JuD activists had gone into hiding, the report said. A police official said the net was being tightened around them and they would soon be arrested. Police and other law enforcement agencies were sharing intelligence and plain-clothe officials were keeping an eye on the sealed offices, the official said. JuD chief Saeed, also the founder of LeT, and about 50 leaders and activists of the group, too, had been detained for up to three months as part of the crackdown launched last week. The authorities also rounded up more than 20 LeT members, including operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the suspected mastermind of the Mumbai attacks. The whereabouts of these LeT members were unknown though Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani recently said they were being questioned and investigated. — PTI
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Non-state actors our responsibility: Zardari
New York, December 16 "Yes, definitely. I do not shrug away from that position. Anybody from my soil is my responsibility," he told Newsweek magazine when asked to comment about US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice's statement that non-state actors on Pakistan's soil are still its responsibility.
Zardari said his administration has started combing the whole region (from where the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba operates) for all non-state actors and "we have made certain arrests." Asked whether he thinks he can shut the LeT down, the President said he will not allow anybody to have the capability to engage in terror attacks.
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CNN: India had prepared for strike on Pak The United States believes that India's Air Force began preliminary preparations for a possible attack on Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of the recent massacre in Mumbai, CNN quoting unnamed Pentagon officials reported on Monday. According to the channel, three Pentagon officials individually confirmed to CNN that the US has information indicating that India began to prepare its Air Force personnel for a possible mission. Indian fighter planes ‘violated’ Pakistani airspace near Lahore and in Azad Kashmir but the violations were downplayed by Pakistan government terming them as “technical incursions”. The officials offered very few details, but one said India's Air Force “went on alert”. This is the first publicly known indication that perhaps the two nuclear powers were closer to conflict in the days after the Mumbai attack than previously acknowledged. A second official said the United States concluded these preliminary preparations would have put India quickly in a position to launch airstrikes against suspected terrorist camps and targets inside Pakistan. During these preparations, a number of senior US officials were urging India to exercise restraint - which apparently it did. Meanwhile, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) spokesman Air Commodore Homayoon Viqar said Pakistan is not on heightened alert at the moment. “Everything is normal,” he said.
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Keep on cooperating with India, Islamabad told United Nations, December 16 Secretary of state Condoleeza Rice said the US would continue to cooperate with both India and Pakistan in “every regard”. “The key is that the parties need to focus on - and I think, we are focusing on - both bringing the perpetrators to justice and prevention of such attacks,” the top US diplomat said after a meeting of the Middle East Quartet at the UN headquarters here yesterday. Rice, who visited both New Delhi and Islamabad in the aftermath of the November 26 attacks on Mumbai, said the US had made its views very clear on the issue and both parties are continuing to cooperate in this regard. However, she parried a question posed by a Pakistani journalist about “increasing tensions” between the two countries following reported incursion of Indian fighter jets into Pakistani airspace. India has denied that its warplanes made any incursion into the Pakistan airspace. Later, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari described it as “technical incursion”. “Incursions do happen,” he said and added that the planes were flying at about 40,000 feet to 50,000 feet when they executed a turn that “slightly entered Pakistan soil.” — PTI
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