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Car bomb attack in Lahore
Pak deploys fresh troops on LoC
Great Escape |
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350 Indians in UK jails
Surgeon uses human fat to run cars
Enraged divorcee in Santa suit kills 8
‘Sopranos’ star John Costelloe kills self
Chinese ships head for Somalia
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Car bomb attack in Lahore
Islamabad, December 26 A man identifying himself as Toofan Wazir, the commander and spokesman of the group, phoned The News daily from somewhere in North Waziristan to claim responsibility for the blast in Lahore and earlier rocket attacks on Dera Ismail Khan city. Wazir threatened more attacks against security forces and government installations to avenge two recent US missile strikes in North Waziristan in which several militants from Punjab province were killed. The report said it appeared "obvious that he (Wazir) and his men are pro-Taliban and part of the Pakistani Taliban". Media reports have said that hours after Wednesday's car bomb attack, intelligence and security agencies in Lahore arrested an alleged Indian national identified as either Satish Anand Shukla or Satish Anand Sharma. The man, who purportedly worked in the Indian High Commission in London, belonged to Kolkata, the reports said. Geo News channel subsequently reported that intelligence agencies had yesterday arrested three more alleged Indian nationals on the basis of information provided by the first man who was nabbed. A camera and a pistol were reportedly found in their possession. Police officials in Lahore have not confirmed the arrest of the alleged Indian nationals and there has been no official word on the matter. The Indian High Commission here has also not been informed about these arrests by the Pakistani authorities.
— PTI
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Pak deploys fresh troops on LoC
Islamabad, December 26 The forces have been moved to the LoC and the international border yesterday to protect vital points. All leave for armed forces personnel has also been cancelled and a virtual security alert put into effect, military sources were quoted as saying by Dawn News channel. Sources in the defence department declined to give details of fresh troop movements but did not deny reports that Pakistan was moving number of brigades towards the frontier in the Lahore sector, the Daily Times newspaper reported. Reports said the Pakistan army had moved its 10th Brigade to Lahore and ordered the 3rd Armoured Brigade to head towards Jhelum alleging a concentration of Indian troops on the border. The Army’s 10th and 11th Divisions have also been put on high alert and troops moved to forward posts on the border facing Rajouri and Poonch sectors in Kashmir. These troops reinforcement are in addition to the formation already deployed in the PoK, Sialkot and Lahore sector. The Pakistan army has an independent corps strength deployment in PoK as well as Jhelum. There have also been reports in the Pakistani media that the Pakistan Air Force is in a state of high alert and was conducting aerial surveillance of the Chashma power plant and other sensitive sites amidst fears of a possible surgical strike by India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. The PAF enhanced its vigilance on Monday and scrambled warplanes to conduct sorties over cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. In recent public comments, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh have both ruled out a war between the two countries. India has been asking Pakistan to crack down on elements in the country which were linked to the Mumbai attacks that killed over 180 people. Pakistan has said it is waiting for India to provide evidence to take forward its probe into the Mumbai incident.
— PTI
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Great Escape
Ramadi (Iraq), December 26 Imad Ahmed Farhan, who police say has admitted to murdering at least 100 people, is on the run with two other ‘emirs’ or local leaders of Al-Qaida who broke out of their cells in a police station in the western city of Ramadi. ”During an exchange of fire between prisoners trying to escape and police officers in the station, six policemen and seven prisoners were killed,” provincial police chief Tareq al-Dulaimi said. The three prisoners managed to flee but one was recaptured, Dulaimi said, adding that another four policemen were wounded in the shootout that occurred at 2 am at Forsan police station in the centre of Ramadi. Ramadi police have imposed a curfew in the city following the incident, an interior ministry source said. The source said a prisoner, wanting to go to the toilet was escorted from his cell by a policeman at 2 am, kicking off what appeared to be a well-planned operation. “The policeman was overpowered by the inmate who seized his weapon and shot him,” the source said. "He then opened up the other cells and along with fellow prisoners grabbed weapons from the police station's armoury, opening fire on the cops."
— AFP
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350 Indians in UK jails
London, December 26 Indian prisoners in British jails numbered 350 in September this year, compared to 259 in September 2005, the ministry informed MPs in a written reply. The number of foreign national prisoners has increased to 11,168 by September this year - an increase of 11 per cent - from 10,265 foreign nationals in February 2006. The number of Pakistani nationals was 406. Vietnam and Poland alone account for more than half of this increase. The number of prisoners from Vietnam has risen by 286 per cent, to 460 prisoners, while the number from Poland by 192 per cent, to 452 prisoners.
— PTI
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Surgeon uses human fat to run cars
A leading Beverly Hills plastic surgeon claims to have found an environmentally-friendly way to combine two of America’s great obsessions n liposuction operations. Alan Bittner, who founded a high-profile clinic on Rodeo Drive, the Bond Street of Los Angeles, claims to be able to power both his Ford Explorer and his girlfriend’s Lincoln Navigator on biofuel converted from excess flesh from human tums, bums and thighs.
“The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel — and I have more fat than I can use,” he says. “Not only do they get to lose their love handles or chubby belly, but they get to take part in saving the earth.” Dr Bittner made his claim in a posting on the internet site lipodiesel.com, adding that he has performed roughly 7,000 liposuction operations, and that a gallon of human fat will produce roughly the same quantity of biofuel. Scientists say there is no reason why human fat cannot be turned into biofuel, since it contains triglycerides which are no different from those found in waste animal fats that are already being used for the same purpose. However the discovery left medical regulators unimpressed. Using human medical waste to power vehicles (or indeed for any other commercial purpose) is largely illegal, and Dr Bittner’s clinic has been raided by California health department officials. The magazine Forbes says that Dr Bittner’s ability to create what he calls “lipodiesel” first came to light in lawsuits filed by several former patients, who recently accused him of allowing his girlfriend and assistant, who were both unlicensed, to carry out intricate operations. A gallon of “lipodiesel” will give motorists roughly the same mileage as they would get from regular diesel, the magazine added. At present, most biofuel is made from a mixture of specially grown corn, and left-over beef or pork products. Sadly, Dr Bittner is no longer around to bask in his new-found fame. His practice in Beverly Hills suddenly closed shortly after last month’s raid, and he is believed to have moved to South America. Lawyers representing several former patients are currently attempting to track him down. One of them, Andrew Besser, claims Dr Bittner’s unlicensed girlfriend removed too much fat from his three clients, leaving them horribly disfigured. Dozens of other patients have complained to the State Medical Board, he added. Dr Bittner’s lawyer is yet to comment. A notice on his website claims that the doctor is currently living in Colombia.
By arrangement with The Independent
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Enraged divorcee in Santa suit kills 8
Covina (California) December 26 Bruce Pardo's ex-wife and her parents were believed to be among the dead. Investigators planned to return to the scene on Wednesday and sift through the ashes of the home, which Pardo set ablaze using a bizarre homemade device that sprayed inflammable liquid. Pardo (45) had no criminal record and no history of violence, according to the police, but he was angry following last week's settlement of his divorce after a marriage that lasted barely a year. "It was not an amicable divorce," police Lt Pat Buchanan said. Pardo chose to exact his revenge at the annual Christmas party his former in-laws held at their two-storeyed home in the quiet Covina neighbourhood, 40 km east of Los Angeles. In the past years, a neighbour dressed as Santa Claus and entertained guests. But the neighbour had moved away and there was no Santa until Pardo arrived around 11:30 pm. The massacre began when an 8-year-old girl answered Pardo's knock at the door. Pardo, carrying what appeared to be a large present, pulled out a handgun and shot her in the face.
— AP
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‘Sopranos’ star John Costelloe kills self
New York, December 26 Police spokesperson Lt John Grimpel says he was found dead in an apparent suicide at his Brooklyn home on December 18. The members of his family had called the police after they were unable to reach him. The 47-year-old former New York City firefighter gained fame in 2006 when he was cast as short-order cook Jim "Johnny Cakes" Witowski opposite Joseph Gannascoli, who played gay mobster Vito Spatafore on the hit HBO show. Costelloe was performing as a hustler in a theatre production of "Gang of Seven" at the time of his death.
— AP
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Chinese ships head for Somalia
Beijing/Tokyo, December 26 The destroyers Haikou and Wuhan, two of China's navy's most sophisticated warships, set sail from the southern resort island of Hainan along with a supply vessel, the official Xinhua news agency said. The three ships have about 800 crew, including 70 special operations troops, Xinhua said. ''We have made special preparations to deal with pirates, even though these waters are not familiar to us,'' it quoted mission commander Rear-Admiral Du Jingcheng as saying. The crack forces are expected to give the fleet an edge in seeing off the pirates, with one of the soldiers able to ''handle several enemies with (his) bare hands'', Xinhua said.
— Reuters
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