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74 hurt in Bangkok protest crackdown
Taliban using mosques as ‘recruitment centres’
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Zardari out to appease judiciary
White House gets its ‘first pooch’
British PM faces tough questions over ‘smeargate’
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74 hurt in Bangkok protest crackdown
Bangkok, April 13 At least 74 persons were reported injured in the clashes, most of them in a pre-dawn confrontation in which the demonstrators hurled at least one gasoline bomb and, according to the military, fired at the troops. The protesters were stationed at half a dozen points in Bangkok, including the prime minister’s office where thousands remained encamped, defying a state of emergency that bans gatherings of more than five people. The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, saying his four-month-old government came to power illegally. Protesters commandeered public buses to block several key intersections, set tires on fire and sent two unmanned buses, one of them set on fire, hurtling toward lines of soldiers. In one of several tense confrontations and cat-and-mouse chases around the city, a line of troops in full battle gear fired volleys of M-16 fire, most of it aimed above the heads of protesters and turned water cannons on the crowd near Victory Monument, a major traffic circle. Abhisit appealed today to the demonstrators to return to their homes, saying the government was using “the softest measures possible” against them. “All the work I am doing is not to create fear or put pressure or to harm any group of people. It’s a step-by-step process to restore order and stop violence,” he said on nationwide television. Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the “situation in Thailand is being brought back under control.” “In the next few hours, several security measures will be established ... to secure major ports, international airports and infrastructure,” he said. — AP
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Taliban using mosques as ‘recruitment centres’
Islamabad, April 13 Almost all mosques in villages in the Buner district are being used by the Taliban to recruit local residents for their cause of enforcing Sharia or Islamic law in the Malakand division, which includes Swat, and the rest of the country, media reports said today. The entry of the Taliban into Buner, which is just about 100 km from the federal capital, has raised alarm throughout Pakistan as to the intentions of the Taliban. Armed bands of the Taliban poured into Buner from neighbouring Swat and took control of the district after overcoming resistance from local tribesmen and officials. The militants yesterday placed villages in Chamla sub-district of Buner “under their protection and faced no resistance from law enforcement agencies. Despite assurances to a tribal jirga last week that they would leave Buner, the militants have instead strengthened their hold on the district”. Maulana Khalil, a Taliban leader from Swat, addressed a congregation in a mosque in Malakpur village where he was welcomed by clerics and a large number of local residents. He urged youths to come forward and shoulder the responsibility for enforcing Sharia in their areas. Khalil said the movement for enforcing Sharia in Malakand division had started 20 years ago but the peaceful campaign could not achieve results. Thus it had to be turned into an armed movement to enforce Sharia. He also said the Tehrik-e-Taliban had to spread its message in the rest of Other Taliban commanders said the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan had roots within and outside the country. Local residents, too, are trying to “adjust their lifestyles” in accordance with the diktats of the Taliban. A large number of them met the Taliban commanders at Pir Baba’s shrine in Sultanwas village, which is being used by militants as the base of their operations in Buner. Apart from the shrine of Pir Baba, the Taliban have set up bases in Pacha Bazaar, Sultanwas, Bagra, Manyarai and Gokand in Buner. — PTI
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Zardari out to appease judiciary
The gesture is apparently meant to make peace with estranged superior judiciary and legal fraternity after a tense year that climaxed to the long march last month led by lawyers and participated by political parties, civil society activists and common people on a massive scale. The induction of three deposed judges commonly known as non-PCO independent judges would greatly correct the imbalance created by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf by stuffing the apex court with pliant judges. Justice Khawaja Sharif, the senior most judge of the Lahore High Court who was sacked by Musharraf along with nearly 60 other judges of the superior courts on November 3, 2007, in the wake of imposition of emergency, has been named as the chief justice of the Lahore HC vide Justice Zahid Hussain who has been elevated to the Supreme Court. The President also surprised the legal fraternity by pulling out of retirement three other judges who had retired after being sacked by Musharraf for refusal to take oath under his infamous Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) and inducting them into the Supreme Court. They are Justice Muhammad Said Ali and Justice Shahid Siddiqui of the Lahore High Court and Justice Ghulam Rabbani of the Sindh High Court. The retirement age for high court judges is 62 and for Supreme Court judges 65. An official notification on the appointments said the President acted on the recommendation of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry with whom his relations had remained fairly strained throughout the year because of some virulent campaign by Zardari and his party after assumption of power after the February 18 polls. In addition, Justice Rana Bhagwandas, Justice Falak Sher and Justice Ghulam Rabbani have been restored to their November 2 position with immediate effect. This restoration is for the purpose that the honourable retired judges of the Supreme Court may draw their salaries and other benefits during the intervening period as per their entitlement in accordance with the law. All three judges of the Supreme Court had also declined to take oath under the PCO and retired during the subsequent two years of fiercely popular movement for their restoration. The statement further said that the president had reiterated his commitment about independence of judiciary, the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.
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White House gets its ‘first pooch’
The curly-haired puppy, now set to become the most famous canine, owes his exotic name to the US President’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, who chose it for two reasons: their cousins have a cat named “Bo”, and Michelle Obama’s father was nicknamed “Diddley”. A Portuguese Water Dog does not shed hair, which makes the breed suitable for 10-year-old Malia Obama, who suffers from allergies. The final decision to choose one over a Labradoodle, which would also have been acceptable, followed extensive lobbying by Senator Ted Kennedy. “We couldn’t be happier to see the joy that Bo is bringing to Malia and Sasha,” Kennedy, who owns three of Bo’s relatives and is friends with his breeder, said on Sunday. “We love our Portuguese Water Dogs and know that the girls, and their parents, will love theirs, too.” In January, Kennedy had said the breed would be “a perfect fit for the Obama family” since the dogs have “a can-do and hopeful spirit”, and were smart, resilient and optimistic. He is due to be present at Bo’s official handover on Tuesday, said reports. — By arrangement with The Independent
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British PM faces tough questions over ‘smeargate’
London, April 13 Damian McBride, one of Brown’s closest aides, resigned after reportedly trying to “smear” the leader of main opposition Conservatives, David Cameron, and other senior Tories in e-mails sent to a former spin doctor. The prime minister said there was “no place” in politics for such material and sources in his Labour party confirmed McBride would not receive a pay-off. The government has insisted that the e-mails were solely the work of McBride, who was Brown’s political spokesman until last year when he was shifted to become head of strategic planning in the prime minister’s office. But furious Conservatives accused Brown of creating a “corrupting culture of spin” - and Labour figures also made clear their distaste at the activities of McBride. The Conservatives’ foreign affairs spokesman William Hague called for Brown to make a full apology. “This has happened at the heart of his government right inside Downing Street,” Hague said. “It is very important that he shows personally that he takes this very seriously and that it is not going to happen again.” — AFP
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Tamils protest outside Aussie PM’s house Pak to build two nuke plants 
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Bangkok, April 13
In a surprise move, President Asif Ali Zardari has named a recently reinstated judge to be the chief justice of the Lahore High Court and elevated three judges to the Supreme Court by pulling out of retirement. They had retired after being sacked by military dictator Pervez Musharraf. 
It was, some said, the most hotly anticipated appointment since Barack Obama’s arrival at the White House. And when it leaked on Sunday, the news hit the US’s top newspapers’ front pages: America’s new “first pooch” is to be a six-month-old Portuguese Water Dog, going by the name of Bo Diddley.
