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Lankan forces close in on Prabhakaran’s hideout
In this photograph released by the Sri Lankan military on Wednesday, army personnel tend to a child at a camp in northern Sri Lanka where people are staying after fleeing no-fire zone, an area controlled by the LTTE. — Reuters Prez to ink bilateral pacts
in Poland
US does not have a real strategy for Pak: Kerry
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AQ Khan world’s greatest proliferator: US
Pak rushes troops to Taliban-infested Buner
‘Indian polls may be behind Nepal’s army chief sacking drama’
Facebook breeding ground for racists, extremists
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Lankan forces close in on Prabhakaran’s hideout
Colombo, April 23 The security forces surrounded the 8 sq km jungle patch, where an estimated 800-900 Tamil Tigers were still offering resistance, the military said. A naval blockade was put around northern Mullaittivu close to the areas where LTTE cadres still had access to the sea as Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka said the troops knew the “general area” where Prabhakaran could be hiding. “We are set to destroy him,” Fonseka said, admitting that troops were facing stiff resistance from remnant LTTE cadres. But the Army chief said the security forces’ primary task at the moment was to get trapped Tamil civilians out of the war zone to safety. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama termed the flow of civilians from the northern region in the past few days as an “emergency humanitarian situation.” Sri Lankan military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanyakkara said “fierce fighting” was going on, but the priority was to get the civilians out. “We can finish them (LTTE) off very quickly after the civilians come out,” the spokesman said. Lankan army chief Fonseka said that Prabhakaran could try to escape through the sea. Sri Lankan Navy has been put on alert to prevent any attempt by Prabhakaran or other senior LTTE leaders from fleeing the country, a senior defence official said. Meanwhile, the pro-rebel Tamilnet website claimed that Sri Lankan navy’s fast attack craft surrounded a Red Cross ship, which was approaching Mullivaaykkaal to transport the seriously wounded people to medical facilities. — PTI
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Prez to ink bilateral pacts
in Poland
Warsaw, April 23 The President will attend a banquet hosted in her honour by her Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski and will focus on economic issues and strengthening of bilateral trade ties during her talks here. Besides discussing ways to enhance bilateral cooperation, India and Poland are expected to sign three agreements tomorrow. Economic cooperation amid global financial crisis will figure high during the meetings between Patil and Polish leaders, officials said. The trade between India and Poland last year stood at $1.27 billion, registering an increase of 48 per cent over the previous year. Indian exports to Poland amounted to $976 million while the country imported $299 million worth of goods from the east European nation. Patil, who is accompanied by Minister of State for Industry and Commerce Ashwini Kumar and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will also address the Indian community members and attend a meeting of business leaders during her stay here. —
PTI
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US does not have a real strategy for Pak: Kerry
Senator John Kerry, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee who recently visited Pakistan has said the Obama administration does not seem to have “a real strategy” for Pakistan. “Pakistan is in a moment of peril. ... And I believe there is not in place yet an adequate policy or plan to deal with it,” he said. Senator Kerry’s comments amounted to one of the most serious criticisms levelled by a Democrat at US President Barack Obama on foreign policy. It reflected a change from his initial reaction to Obama’s announcement of his plan for the region in a speech on March 27, when Kerry issued a statement calling it “realistic and bold”. “Obviously the President disagrees with the chairman on this matter and the issues he raised are being aggressively worked in the new strategy,” White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in an email to USA Today. The senator advised the Obama administration to stop using the term “AfPak”, to describe a unified strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, because “I think it does a dis-service to both countries and to the policy”. “The two governments,” he said, “are very sensitive to it and don’t see the linkage.” Senator Kerry’s spokesman, Frederick Jones, told reporters that the Presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan were scheduled to embark on a rare joint visit to the US for meetings in May.
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AQ Khan world’s greatest proliferator: US
Washington, April 23 “We do think that there need to be the right kind of conditions,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an appearance before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “You know, it’s a little bit like the Goldilocks story. I mean, if they’re too weak, we don’t get changes. If they’re too strong, we get a backlash. So we’re trying to figure out sort of what is the area that will influence behaviour and produce results,” she said. —
IANS
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Pak rushes troops to Taliban-infested Buner
Peshawar, April 23 Meanwhile, after Mullah Fazlullah's announcement over his illegal FM radio channel, the patrolling by the Taliban in the district's shopping areas has subsided, the Dawn reports. Local residents said extremists had restricted their movement to Pir Baba, Sultanwas and Zaga areas of the district. Following the government’s approval to establish sharia law in the region, militants from the Swat valley entered Buner in large numbers raising fears that the Taliban would establish its writ in the region too, and that the accord had only emboldened their wish to expand their control. —
ANI
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‘Indian polls may be behind Nepal’s army chief sacking drama’
Kathmandu, April 23 The fear of a new dispensation in New Delhi, either headed by the ruling Congress or nationalistic BJP, both of whom have an uneasy relationship with the Nepal Maoists, could well be a key factor in the Maoists’ decision to take the Nepal Army head-on even at the cost of being deserted by its own allies. Gen Rookmangud Katawal, the army chief under fire, is due to retire in August. By trying to sack him just four months before and putting its government at risk indicates the Maoists are under some serious compulsion. With the cabinet scheduled to take a decision on Katawal’s dismissal Wednesday, there are indications of a crisis in the government. — IANS
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Facebook breeding ground for racists, extremists
London, April 23 According to The Independent, the Federation of Poles in Great Britain has become so disturbed by some of the content online that it has written a letter to Facebook's owner Mark Zuckerburg, calling on him to close down an anti-Polish group where one member said Polish people should be thrown “down the well”. — ANI
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43 potential candidates for Afghan presidency Suicide attack kills 28 ‘Iran, Afghan guards clash’
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Setting the stage for the final assault on the LTTE, Sri Lankan forces today encircled a small strip of land in the north, where Tiger supremo V Prabhakaran is believed to be holed up, and deployed warships to foil any escape bid by rebels amid global calls for a truce.
