W O R L D

Quake jolts Italy, 90 dead
Rome, April 6
At least 90 persons were killed in a devastating earthquake that rocked central Italy around the ancient town of L'Aquila on Monday. An estimated 50,000 people were left homeless. The US Geological Survey reported the strength of the quake at 6.3, saying it was centred 95 km northeast of Rome at a depth of 10 km.

Firefighters remove debris in the city of L’Aquila after a strong earthquake rocked Italy on Monday. — AP/PTI

Submit report on flogging, Pak CJ tells govt
The Supreme Court on Monday indefinitely adjourned hearing on its suo motu notice in the case relating to the flogging of a Swat girl but directed the authorities concerned to submit a fortnightly progress report to the court.

Girl denies being flogged
The teenage girl who was filmed being flogged by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive Swat valley has denied that the incident ever occurred in a statement made to government officials, media reports said on Monday. Chand Bibi, the 17-year-old girl, who was shown being held down by three men while a fourth flogged her, reportedly told the judge of a Qazi or Islamic court and Divisional Commissioner Syed Mohammad Javed yesterday that such an incident had never happened. — PTI

‘Pak could collapse within 6 months’
New York, April 6
Pakistan could collapse within six months in the face of snowballing insurgency, according to a top expert on guerrilla warfare. Such dire prediction was given by David Kilcullen, a former adviser to top US military commander General David H Petraeus.

Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sanghakara (R) shakes hands with Pakistani bus driver Mohammad Khalil, who drove the team to safety during the Lahore attack, at a ceremony held to felicitate Khalil in Colombo. — Reuters

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Paul McCartney (left) and Ringo Starr address a news conference, where David Lynch's foundation announced an initiative to teach youth to meditate, in New York. — Reuters

Taliban to strike ‘twice a week’
Peshawar, April 6
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the Frontier Constabulary camp in Islamabad, and vowed that they would carry out two suicide attacks per week unless the United States stops drone attacks in tribal areas.

Suicide bombers were Pak nationals: Malik
Islamabad, April 6 Pakistan Prime Minister’s Interior Affairs Adviser Rehman Malik has said the attackers are Pakistani nationals and that they have not come from outside. He said a suicide bomber was not under any compulsion to carry out attacks. “They are sold for money,” he added. Malik said the family of a suicide bomber gets Rs 5,00, 000 for blowing himself up.

Gilani for reopening of Zulfikar case
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the case of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto should be reopened so that the nation could know the facts of the case.

Sherpa to scale Mt Everest for 19th time
Nepalese mountaineer Appa Sherpa, who has already set a world record by scaling the highest peak of the world for 18th time, has all set to left Kathmandu to climb the Mt Everest for 19th time in the current season.

25 killed in Iraq blasts
Baghdad, April 6
At least 25 people were killed in four car bombings across the Iraqi capital on Monday, the police said. Four powerful explosions shook Baghdad over the space of two hours, injuring at least 55 people, police said.

Quake jolts Italy, 90 dead

Rome, April 6
At least 90 persons were killed in a devastating earthquake that rocked central Italy around the ancient town of L'Aquila on Monday. An estimated 50,000 people were left homeless.

The US Geological Survey reported the strength of the quake at 6.3, saying it was centred 95 km northeast of Rome at a depth of 10 km.

The death toll in the earthquake could rise, Italian news agency ANSA reported, citing rescue workers. Many were feared buried under rubble after thousands of homes were wrecked or left dangerously cracked. Thousands of people were torn from their sleep and left homeless, wandering the streets.

The Italian government declared a state of emergency and set up a major operation sending in troops and emergency services to an area largely cut off after access roads were left blocked.

Speaking to reporters in L'Aquila, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said that emergency services "could not have been quicker" in getting to the region. "They were on their way just a quarter of an hour after the quake struck," he said.

Local media said many more bodies were expected to be unearthed. The regional capital L'Aquila and the ancient town of Castelnuovo were badly hit, as were the nearby towns of Paganmica and Poggio Picenze.

The quake, preceded by two strong tremors and followed by an aftershock of 4.7 strength, occurred at 3.32 a.m. from a depth of some five km, according to civil defence authorities.

Tremors were clearly felt in Rome, about 144 km to the south-west, and as far as Naples. It was among the worst quakes to hit Italy in several decades, local reports said.

There were reports of hospitals in the region overflowing with injured and cars and other vehicles kept pouring in from immediate and outlying areas, ferrying people with major and minor injuries.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi cancelled a planned visit to Moscow as he declared the state of emergency. "Let's leave the politics to one side," he said. "We must help those who need help." — DPA

Submit report on flogging, Pak CJ tells govt
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

The Supreme Court on Monday indefinitely adjourned hearing on its suo motu notice in the case relating to the flogging of a Swat girl but directed the authorities concerned to submit a fortnightly progress report to the court.

The authorities produced a statement of the victim, Chand Bibi, who denied ever having been flogged. Senior officials appearing before the court maintained that the video footage of flogging was fake and apparently designed to subvert the Swat Accord under which the Taliban accepted to restore peace in return for promise to enforce the Shariah laws and setting up of Qazi courts in the region.

Interior secretary, NWFP police chief, federal home secretary, attorney general (AG) and other high officials appeared before the eight-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The girl was not produced before the court despite its orders. AG Latif Khosa told the court that the victim of the flogging could not be produced before the court due to security considerations and for honouring the customs and traditions of the people of the area.

Latif during the hearing made a plea that the matter relating to the flogging of the girl was a sensitive issue and therefore the hearing be conducted closed-door. The Supreme Court turning down the request for in-camera trial observed that the episode has already received wide publicity and the court itself took notice because of the media reports. It was therefore imperative that the facts need be brought before the public.

A confidential report was presented from the NWFP chief secretary (CS). The SC bench refused to accept the report with the remarks that no confidential report was required and all facts should be brought in public.

‘Pak could collapse within 6 months’

New York, April 6
Pakistan could collapse within six months in the face of snowballing insurgency, according to a top expert on guerrilla warfare. Such dire prediction was given by David Kilcullen, a former adviser to top US military commander General David H Petraeus.

Petraeus also echoed the same thought when he told a Congressional testimony last week that insurgency was one which could “take down” Pakistan, which is home to nuclear arms and the Al-Qaida.

Kilcullen’s comments come as Pakistan is witnessing an unprecedented upswing in terrorists strikes and now some analysts in Pakistan and Washington are putting forward apocalyptic timetables for the country.

In an analysis piece, the New York Times cast doubts about the success of President Barack Obama’s strategy offering Pakistan a partnership to defeat insurgency and said the Pakistanis still consider India enemy number one.

Officially, the Pakistan’s government welcomed Obama’s strategy, with its hefty infusions of American money, hailing it as a “positive change”, the paper said.

But as the Obama administration tries to bring Pakistanis to its side, large parts of the public, political class and the military have brushed off the plan, rebuffing the idea that the threat from the Al-Qaida and the Taliban, which Washington calls a common enemy, is so urgent, it added. — PTI

Suicide bombers were Pak nationals: Malik

Islamabad, April 6
Pakistan Prime Minister’s Interior Affairs Adviser Rehman Malik has said the attackers are Pakistani nationals and that they have not come from outside. He said a suicide bomber was not under any compulsion to carry out attacks. “They are sold for money,” he added. Malik said the family of a suicide bomber gets Rs 5,00, 000 for blowing himself up.

Malik said a high-level meeting would be held to review the security situation.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has issued orders to security forces in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to be high alert for 24 hours till further orders and to provide additional security for mosques, imambargahs, worship places and religious congregations.

Directives have been given to the police and law-enforcing agencies in a circular, received by the Rawalpindi regional police officer and the Islamabad police. They have been asked to ensure checking of vehicles and suspect persons on the interior and exterior routes. — ANI

Gilani for reopening of Zulfikar case
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the case of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto should be reopened so that the nation could know the facts of the case.

“Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the most popular and the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Gilani said while talking to reporters. “His execution was a judicial murder, a fact which has been acknowledged even by judges,” he added.

He said the reopening of the trial would allow the nation to know about the facts of the case of their most popular leader who had given it unanimous constitution and nuclear programme.

Bhutto was sentenced to death on charges of abetment in the murder of father of a dissident PPP leader by Lahore High Court that was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1979 in a controversial split 4-3 decision. 

Sherpa to scale Mt Everest for 19th time
Bishnu Budhathoki writes from Kathmandu

Nepalese mountaineer Appa Sherpa, who has already set a world record by scaling the highest peak of the world for 18th time, has all set to left Kathmandu to climb the Mt Everest for 19th time in the current season.

According to Dawa Steven Sherpa, managing director of Asian Trekking, which has been making necessary arrangement for Appa, he will carry back trash from the slopes of the everest, besides breaking his own record of assenting the highest peak.

He was supposed to leave Kathmandu for the expedition on Monday but his flight was cancelled because of poor weather. “I want to climb the mountain again to put the Bhumpa on the top of Everest,” Appa Sherpa said before he left for Kathmandu .

The Bhumpa, an eight-inch tall copper sacred vase, containing 400 elements, including precious metals, Buddhist relics, shreds of robes worn by venerated monks, was handed over to him by Rimpoche Ngawang Tenzin Zangpo of Tengboche monastery on Friday .

“I am very excited to take this to the top and I will be very happy if I am successful,” said the 48-year-old mountainer.

Appa said putting the vase on the mountain would be a prayer for the world peace and prosperity. It is believed that Mt Everest has been soiled because so many people have climbed the mountain. “The vase will re-consecrate it and give it the power to protect the earth,” he said.

Sherpas mainly hail from eastern mountainous regions of Nepal consider the everest as a goddess of wealth and power.

Appa, who currently lives in Salt Lake City in the U. S. and works as a climbing instructor and gives lectures, broke the world record for climbing the everest when he climbed the mountain for the 11th time in 1998. His closest competitor for the record is Chhewang Nima Sherpa, who has climbed the 8,848-metre peak 15 times.

25 killed in Iraq blasts

Baghdad, April 6
At least 25 people were killed in four car bombings across the Iraqi capital on Monday, the police said. Four powerful explosions shook Baghdad over the space of two hours, injuring at least 55 people, police said.

The first bombing struck the central Baghdad neighbourhood of al-Allawi, killing at least four people and injuring at least 15, police and Baghdad's al-Iraqia television channel said.

That attack was quickly followed by a blast in a crowded market in the predominantly Shia slum of Sadr City. At least 10 people were killed and another 28 were wounded in that attack, police said. In New Baghdad, a car bomb blast killed at least two people.

The fourth car bomb targeted a market in the northern Baghdad suburb of al-Husseinia, police said. It was not clear who was responsible for the car bombings, or if they were coordinated. — DPA