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Malaysia alert for Prabhakaran Obama’s second take flawless Obama orders closure of Guantanamo Bay |
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Amar Singh cited as Hillary gets Senate nod Another Andhra techie loses life in US NRI buys top British Asian weekly US to hike aid to Pak Militants mull friendly policy on Kashmir: Report Don’t equate killers with victims: Pranab Nepal bans ‘Chandani Chowk...’
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Malaysia alert for Prabhakaran There is growing speculation about the fate of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, fuelled by news reports on Thursday that an unidentified aircraft was spotted over the north Mullaithivu district which had smuggled the Tamil Tiger leader away, as the Sri Lankan Army is closing in on the last remaining stronghold of the guerrillas. The Sri Lanka Navy said it fired at an unidentified aircraft off Mullaithivu on Tuesday night, forcing the plane to detour and disappear but did not speculate where the aircraft came from or for what purpose. But this fuelled speculation that Prabhakaran may have got way from the country. The AFP reports on said Malaysia has been put on alert as it is suspected that the LTTE supremo may have entered the country as troops surround Mullaithivu. The news agency quoted the Malaysian Police chief Musa Hassan who told the New Straits Times daily that he had ordered a nationwide alert following reports that Prabhakaran may have fled to Malaysia or to Thailand. However, Sri Lanka’s defence spokesman said Prabhakaran is still holed up in Mullaithivu and was confident that the military would capture him.
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Obama’s second take flawless US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. administered the oath of office a second time - and this time flawlessly - to President Barack Obama in the White House on Wednesday evening. “We decided it was so much fun . . .,” Obama joked in the White House Map Room prior to the ceremony that involved no Bible and took place in the presence of a handful of staffers. First lady Michelle Obama was not present. Obama made small talk with pool reporters as Roberts donned his black robe. “Are you ready to take the oath?” Roberts asked. “I am, and we’re going to do it very slowly,” Obama replied. After the recitation, Roberts smiled and said, “Congratulations, again.” Obama replied, “Thank you, sir,” and then added: “All right. The bad news for the [reporters] is there’s 12 more balls!” The President was referring to the parties that followed his inauguration on Tuesday.
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Obama orders closure of Guantanamo Bay Washington, January 22 He also signed an order to shut down all secret Central Intelligence Agency detention centers around the world. Human rights organisations have been alleging that the Guantanamo Bay military prison, set up by the Bush Administration in 2002, was being used to detain and question terror suspects with harsh interrogation measures. The prison camp currently holds about 245 inmates. The executive orders in this regard were signed by Obama at a White House ceremony during his meeting with the retired military officials. The order sets up an immediate review to determine whether it is possible to transfer detainees to third countries, consistent with national security. — PTI
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Amar Singh cited as Hillary gets Senate nod
A US senator, raising concerns about whether foreign donations to former President Bill Clinton’s foundation would influence Hillary Rodham Clinton’s decisions as Secretary of State, cited as an example financial contributions made by an Indian politician to the foundation at the time the US-India civilian nuclear deal was being discussed in Congress. As the Senate prepared to confirm Hillary to her new job in Barack Obama’s administration on Wednesday, Texas Republican Sen John Cornyn said he was worried about “the perception of conflict of interest.” As an example of such a conflict he said, “Now, last year, last Congress, we voted to support a civilian nuclear technology arrangement with the country of India and I voted for it. But one of the problems is, for example, one of the individuals who was lobbying for that, a politician in India who gave between $1 million and $5 million to the foundation, was actually lobbying Congress to pass this very same deal at the time he was making a significant contribution to the foundation.” Cornyn added, “I’m not suggesting anything untoward or improper about that but I’m pointing out the very real example of the perception of conflict of interest, something I think we all would hope to avoid.” The politician Cornyn was referring to is Amar Singh. The Samajwadi Party leader’s name featured on a list of donors put out by the Clinton Foundation in response to a request from senators. Cornyn’s spokesman told The Tribune the senator he had picked Singh’s name from the list provided by the foundation. Singh contributed anywhere from $1 to $5 million to the Clinton Foundation. Meanwhile, Caroline Kennedy, has given up her bid for the US Senate seat vacated by Hillary. In a one-line statement citing personal reasons, Kennedy, the daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, said on Thursday she told New York Gov. David Paterson a day earlier that she was no longer interested in the job.
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Another Andhra techie loses life in US
Washington, January 22 Preliminary investigations in the death of Muthyala Purushottam (27) pointed to a case of suicide. The lives of the previous seven victims from the state were snuffed out in the US after they were found murdered in separate incidents. Purushottam was found dead in his apartment in a southeastern neighborhood of Indianapolis City on Tuesday evening, the police said. A resident of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, Purushottam worked with Triton Infotech in Indianapolis. Purushottam, son of sub-inspector M Nagalingam, went to the US two years ago and was living with his wife Praveena, who also hails from Anantapur. An Indianapolis police official, requesting anonymity as she is not authorised to speak to the media, said the police received an emergency call at about 6.15 pm on Tuesday that Purushottam was found dead on the floor.
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NRI buys top British Asian weekly London, January 22 The group has also put on sale ‘New Nation’, a publication for the Afro-Caribbean readership, which allegedly dragged the group down due to plunging advertising revenue and falling circulation. Founded in 1989, ‘Eastern Eye’ reported on the problems and successes of the Asian community and also celebrated successful Asians in Asian Business Awards, a popular event in London’s social and business circuit. The weekly has now been bought by the Asian Media & Marketing Group, founded by Ramniklal Solanki, a senior Gujarati journalist and also its editor-in-chief, for an undisclosed amount. “Now that we no longer have to subsidise ‘New Nation’, I hope that ‘Eastern Eye’ may at long last have the resources to realise its full potential”, Haman Varma, editor of ‘Eastern Eye’ said. The Asian Media & Marketing Group publishes ‘Garavi Gujarat’, ‘GG2 Life’ magazine, ‘Asian Trader’ and other publications. Staff of ‘Eastern Eye’ was informed of the sale by its management yesterday. Solanki, 75, hails from Surat and arrived in Britain in the 1950s as a correspondent for Gujarati newspapers. He was honoured by Queen Elizabeth with a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) award for his work. He has since founded and expanded a media group that has a range of titles in Gujarati and English. — PTI 
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US to hike aid to Pak The new US administration will increase non-military aid to Pakistan, but hold it accountable for security along the Afghanistan border. This was stated in a US foreign policy document, released soon after President Obama assumed his office. The document called the resurgence of the Al-Qaida and Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan as 'the greatest threat to our security'. "(President) Obama and (Vice President Joe) Biden will increase non-military aid to Pakistan and hold them accountable for security in the border region with Afghanistan," it read. Meanwhile, in Washington, Pakistan's ambassador Husain Haqqani, has said Pakistan will have to review its options if the Obama administration does not adopt a positive policy towards it. Haqqani told TV channel Geo that former US President George Bush preferred getting himself heard to listening to others and 'believed in the use of force'. He said compared to Bush, Obama believed in holding talks. He underscored the need for placing the proposed Biden-Lugar bill on 'fast-track', claiming that only strong democracy can fight terrorism in Pakistan. As the key points of Obama's foreign policy agenda indicate, the new administration is expected to follow the main elements of Biden-Lugar proposals.
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Militants mull friendly policy on Kashmir: Report Islamabad, January 22 Senior leaders of LeT and United Jehad Council, a conglomerate of terrorist groups active in Jammu and Kashmir, are “pondering a new, friendly policy on Kashmir” because of mounting global pressure on Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks and subsequent action against jehadi groups in the country, a ‘knowledgeable’ source was quoted as saying by The News daily. The newspaper reported that it was unable to reach UJC chairman Syed Salahuddin for his comments. Salahuddin’s spokesman Ehsan Elahi said the groups wanted the Kashmir issue to b “settled amicably” in the emerging situation. “It is our desire that this problem is resolved through dialogue... Neither is militancy an easy affair nor are we happy with it,” Elahi said. “We want peace but it does not mean that we are renouncing our stance or showing a weakness. If there is such an impression at any quarters, it is completely wrong.” Elahi complained that the current Pakistan government, unlike past administrations, was “not supporting them”. Since the Pakistan People's Party-led government is not backing the groups diplomatically and morally, they had “obvious grumbles” but understood the “prevailing volatile situation”, he said. — PTI
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Don’t equate killers with victims: Pranab Delaram (Afghanistan), January 22 “The commitment to fight against terrorism should be total. Sometimes, we find there is tendency to equate the perpetrators of terrorist acts and victims of terrorist acts together and hyphenated”, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here after formally handing over the Delaram- Zaranj highway project to the Afghan authorities. “This tendency must be avoided. Perpetrators of terrorist acts must be penalised,” Pranab said. The minister said he hoped that new US President Barack Obama recognised that the Indo-US relations had reached new heights over the past few years. “The relations should be maintained at that level. The commitment to fight against terrorism should be total,”Mukherjee said. In an apparent reference to Pakistan, he pointed out that it was the primary responsibility of the incumbent governments to bring to justice the perpetrators of terror acts operating on their territories. Highway handed over to Afghanistan India today handed over to Afghan authorities the crucial highway built by it in the face of stiff resistance from the Taliban, vowing that the collaboration between the two countries in the field of development will not stop. The 215-km long Delaram-Zaranj highway, a symbol of India’s developmental work in the war-ravaged country, was handed over to the Afghan authorities by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta. “Completion of the road reflects the determination of both India and Afghanistan that nothing can prevent or hinder collaboration between the two countries,” Mukherjee said at a function to mark this handover. On the occasion, Karzai said the completion of the Rs 600-crore project is a message to those who want to stop cooperation between India and Afghanistan. “Our cooperation will not stop,” the Afghan President said. The Taliban was opposed to this project and launched frequent attacks on the construction workers in an attempt to force the winding up of the work. A total of six Indians, including a Border Roads Organisation driver and four ITBP soldiers, and 129 Afghans were killed in these attacks.
— Agencies
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Nepal bans ‘Chandani Chowk...’ The CPN (Maoist)-led coalition government on Thursday banned the newly released Bollywood movie “Chandani Chowk to China” to screen across the country saying that the movie contains objectionable portion. The cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s office in Singha Durbar this afternoon directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take diplomatic initiative and appeal all nations to screen the movie only after deleting the controversial portion from it about Lord Buddha being born in India. “We have come to learn that the movie is being screened in Canada and the US as well,” Minister of Information and Communication Krishna Bahadur Mahara said after the cabinet meeting. Mahara, who is also the government spokesperson, said that the cabinet had asked the Foreign Ministry to write to the Indian Government regarding the film as it had incorrectly mentioned that Lord Buddha was born in India instead of Lumbini of Kapilvastu district in western Terai of Nepal. “This movie should be screened only after correcting the objectionable part,” Mahara said. The government decision came immediately after the students affiliated to various political parties, cine artistes and youths across the country intensified their protest by burning the posters of the film. Earlier today, the Ministry of Information and Communications had issued a notice asking all cinema and high-vision halls not to screen the movie from Thursday. The movie stars Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone, and is the first Indian movie to be co-financed and distributed by Hollywood’s Warner Brothers.
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