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Prabhakaran ‘living’ among civilians
Join US army, get citizenship
Pak Taliban free Chinese techie
Drone Attacks
India, B’desh set to renew water transit pact
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Pak Taliban announces 10-day truce in Swat
15 die in Russia fire
Mumbai attackers’ den traced: Report
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Prabhakaran ‘living’ among civilians
Colombo, February 15 Prabhakaran (54) has mingled with Tamil civilians trapped in the conflict zone, it said. Sri Lankan military officials last month said LTTE leader may have left the island nation as his forces suffered worst ever defeat since the beginning of the ethnic clashes. Anthony and LTTE Sea Tiger chief Soosai had briefed the two black Tigers on the mission, for an underwater demolition on January 20, but the duo, who were fed up with the ‘behaviour’ of the group’s leadership, decided to surrender, the newspaper said quoting the suicide cadres. “They said the innocent youth are being brain-washed and sent on suicide missions,” the newspaper added. Black Tigers are the elite force of LTTE and most of their attacks are suicidal in nature. The arrested Black Tigers have also revealed that Prabhakaran’s son Charles Anthony is commanding a contingent of the Tamil Tigers alongside other top rebel leaders like Banu and Lakshman. Anthony, who returned from Ireland in 2006, is believed to have got a degree in aeronautical engineering and is heading the air wing and computer unit of LTTE, according to the reports. He is also believed to have played a key role in building the LTTE air wing, which surprised the world with a night raid on Sri Lankan military air base inside Colombo's international airport in March 2007. — PTI
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Lankan jets pound LTTE vessel
Sri Lankan fighter jets today pounded LTTE attack craft, sinking two and destroying another, even as advancing troops killed six Tamil Tigers in fierce clashes in the embattled north, the army said today. Air Force MiG-27 fighter jets today launched precision air strikes at identified LTTE attack craft sinking two, while destroying another in the north of the Mullaittivu lagoon, Air Force spokesperson Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said. "The LTTE craft were located near the wreck of the
Farah-III, Jordanian cargo vessel which was pirated by the LTTE on December 23, 2006," Nanayakkara said.
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Join US army, get citizenship
New York, February 15 It will begin recruiting skilled immigrants, who are living in the country on temporary visas, enticing them with a fast track to US citizenship in as little as six months. Immigrants having green cards, have been eligible to enlist since long. But the latest effort, for the first time since the Vietnam War, will open the armed forces for temporary immigrants if they have lived in the country for a minimum of two years, the New York Times reported. Recruiters expect that the temporary immigrants will have more education, foreign language skills and professional expertise than many Americans who enlist, helping the military to fill shortages in medical care, language interpretation and field intelligence analysis. "The us army finds itself in a lot of different countries where cultural awareness is critical," Lt Gen Benjamin C Freakley, the top recruitment officer for the army, was quoted as saying. The programme, the paper says, will begin with 1,000 enlistees nation-wide in its first year, most for the army and some for other branches. If the pilot programme succeeds as Pentagon officials anticipate, it will expand for all branches of the military. For the army, it could eventually provide as many as 14,000 volunteers a year, or about one in six recruits. About 8,000 permanent immigrants with green cards join the armed forces annually, the Pentagon reports, and about 29,000 foreign-born people currently serving are not American.
— PTI
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Pak Taliban free Chinese techie
Islamabad, February 15 Long Xiaowei, an employee of ZTE Corporation, China's largest telecommunications equipment provider, was kidnapped along with a colleague from Dir district of the troubled North West Frontier Province on August 29 last year. Long's colleague escaped from their captors in October. The Taliban released Long yesterday and he reached the Chinese embassy here early this morning. Chinese officials said Long would go back to China soon to join his family. "This embassy, along with Long, wishes to express sincere thanks to the efforts by relative departments of Pakistan for his safe release," said a statement issued by the Chinese embassy. During his meeting with Long, Ambassador Luo Zhaohui said the embassy would make more efforts for the safety and protection of Chinese citizens in Pakistan. The embassy will also "strengthen security measures together with the Pakistani side", Lou was quoted as saying . Reports said Long was released in the northwestern Swat district, large parts of which are controlled by the local Taliban. — PTI
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Pak oppn seeks clarification
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have strongly criticised the government following claims by a US Senator that Pakistan's airbase is being used for carrying out drone attacks in the tribal areas. The PML-N Central Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal said the statement of the Senator, who also chairs the US Senate's intelligence committee, had disappointed and created unrest among the Pakistani nationals. Two missiles fired by suspected US drones on Saturday killed 28 Taliban, including foreigners, in Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud's stronghold in south Waziristan. Ahsan Iqbal said the Pakistan government should take notice of the statement of the US official and take the nation into confidence about the truth behind the drone attacks in tribal areas. "All this is happening due to non-implementation of parliament's joint resolution about Swat and the tribal areas," he said. Meanwhile, JI member Professor Khurshid Ahmad, too, has asked the government to clarify its position on the drone attacks. Professor Khurshid said the disclosure had shocked every Pakistani and destroyed the credibility of the present leadership, adding that the government had denied the existence of any US military base in Pakistan.
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India, B’desh set to renew water transit pact
Dhaka, February 15 "We are planning to renew the existing water transit facilities between the two countries," a foreign ministry official said today, confirming a report carried by the New Age newspaper in this regard. The bilateral Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade was last renewed in May 2008 while it is scheduled to expire next month. Official sources said Bangladesh is expected to allow India to use the central Ashuganj port in exchange of getting identical facilities in another port in India while the issue was discussed in bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his counterpart Dipu Moni during the Indian leader's recent visit here.
— PTI
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Pak Taliban announces 10-day truce in Swat
Islamabad, February 15 The peace talks between a senior cleric and local authorities are believed to have struck a deal to enforce Shariah laws in some parts of the region. Islamic militants in the valley are still holding John Solecki, an American citizen working for an UN agency, and have threatened to kill him within 72 hours if the government did not release 141 women allegedly detained in the country. Maulana Sufi Mohammad, chief of Tehrik-e-Nifaaz-e- Shariat-e-Mohammadi, was engaged in peace talks with the government after being freed last year. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told reporters in Swat today that they would observe a ceasefire for 10 days. Sufi Mohammad, who was set free by the government to facilitate peace talks, is believed to have reached an agreement with the government on implementing Shariah laws in some parts of Swat. Maulana Fazlullah, who heads the Taliban in Swat, is the son-in-law of Sufi Mohammad. President Asif Ali Zardari admitted yesterday that his government was fighting for the “survival” of the country against the ever-expanding presence of Taliban militants. — PTI
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Moscow, February 15 “The house has burned out fast, like a box of matches,” an official with the emergencies committee of Astrakhan region said by telephone. He said the fire, in a hostel built for local workers but inhabited by nearly 80 squatters, broke out late yesterday in the town of Molodyozhny. The cause was not immediately clear. Russian media said the hostel was closed after an official commission found its condition dangerous for residents and electricity was switched off, but squatters reconnected it using makeshift wiring. Fires in old buildings are not unusual in Russia, especially during winter when heaters are being used. Twenty-three people died on January 31 when fire destroyed a retirement home in the northern region of Komi. President Dmitry Medvedev ordered checks on retirement homes, hostels and schools across the country. — Reuters
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Mumbai attackers’ den traced: Report Islamabad, February 15 A large map of the world with Mumbai and the sea route to it marked out prominently, and newspapers, including those carrying stories about the November 26 Mumbai carnage were found at the house, now sealed by investigators, Geo TV said. The TV footage of the unkept house, that is believed to have been used by the terrorists, including Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman, showed among other things a picture of a speed boat, equipment used in fishing vessels and a large amount of medicines. The channel captured images of mattresses and blankets strewn around, in what it said were traces of a once well-furnished living quarter located in Dori, 40 km from Karachi, from where the terrorists sailed for Mumbai. — PTI
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