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Iran prepares for recounting of votes
It’s up to Iranians to pick their leader: Obama
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Vienna Shootout
High time CTBT comes into force, says UN chief
Indian hurt in Nepal blast
Five Jaish activists held in
Pakistan
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Iran prepares for recounting of votes
Tehran, June 16 As the authorities imposed a clampdown on foreign media, the country’s election watchdog said it was ready to order a recount of the election that returned Ahmadinejad to power amid opposition claims of vote-rigging. State television broadcast footage showing huge crowds of flag-waving demonstrators packing a central square in Tehran at a regime-organised rally, while a correspondent said a similar rally was also being held by supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. However, AFP could not reach the site of the demonstrations as Iran has banned journalists working for foreign media from covering such events. A pro-Mousavi demonstration turned violent on Monday with seven people killed and several more wounded in street battles outside the local base of the Basij Islamic militia, state radio said. Iran’s election watchdog said it was ready to do a recount of Friday’s hotly disputed vote that has exposed deep divisions in the oil-rich nation of 71 million people, mostly Shiite Muslims. In a bid to avoid further clashes, Mousavi had urged his supporters not to turn up for their own rally. But a correspondent with Iran’s English language Press TV said it had turned into a “massive” demonstration. Iran, which has been at loggerheads with the West over its nuclear drive, is facing an international backlash over its crackdown against the opposition protesters and the validity of the election itself. The EU said it was “very concerned” about the unrest, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy said bluntly that there was “fraud” in the election, the strongest comments so far from the West. The authorities have warned they would nip any “velvet revolution” in the bud and have rounded up scores of people in Tehran and other cities, including prominent reformist leaders close to former president Mohammad Khatami. Some telephone, texting and Internet services have also been disrupted, and protesters have been turning to Twitter to spread word about the dramatic events in their currently. State radio said at least seven people were killed when “thugs” attacked and vandalised government buildings at the end of Monday's pro-Mousavi rally, which had been banned by the authorities as an illegal gathering. “A military post was attacked with the intention of looting its weapons. Unfortunately, seven of our citizens were killed and a number of them injured,” it said. — AFP
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It’s up to Iranians to pick their leader: Obama
President Barack Obama on Monday broke his silence on the political unrest in Iran saying he is deeply troubled by the violence, which has claimed the lives of several people. But, he added, it is the Iranians, and not the United States, who should pick leaders in Tehran.
Speaking alongside Italian President Silvio Berlusconi at the White House on Monday, Obama said, “I want to start off by being very clear that it is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran’s leaders will be; that we respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran.” He contended that it would be wrong for him to be silent about the unrest. “And what I would say to those people who put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process, I would say to them that the world is watching and inspired by their participation, regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election was. And they should know that the world is watching,” Obama said. Addressing the youth of Iran, Obama said, “I want them to know that we in the United States do not want to make any decisions for the Iranians, but we do believe that the Iranian people and their voices should be heard and respected.” Obama’s cautious response underscores the tightrope his administration is walking as it is faced with the option of condemning an election widely seen as fraudulent and the prospect of working with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once the furor subsides. The president said Washington would continue to pursue a tough, direct dialogue with Iran. “We’ll see where it takes us,” he added.
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Vienna Shootout
Vienna, June 16 Yesterday, Amritpal fired gunshots at members of Austria’s special police force investigating last month’s shooting. According to the police, he was immediately overpowered and arrested. After a raid on the 15th district apartment of Amritpal, the police confiscated computers, 35 guns of various sizes, about 2,000 bullets and a red Nissan Alemrain full of weapons. “Weapons like knives of different sizes, pistols and long guns, including air guns, were found in the apartment of Amritpal, who is a Sikh with an Austrian passport. He fired at the police from inside his apartment. The police entered the apartment unhurt and arrested him,” police spokesperson Michael Takacs said. Takacs revealed that the special investigations group created after the shootout at the gurdwara of the Dera Sach Khand sect is named ‘SoKo Punjab”. After weeks of interrogations of scores of eyewitnesses, the police raided nine apartments yesterday. He added that the police do not yet know how Amritpal was connected to the case and why he fired at the Austrian commandos. Hardeep Singh, a 33-year-old asylum seeker facing deportation and a suspect in the shootout, was released from preventive detention on June 5 but remains in custody on charges of living in the country illegally. About six suspects were detained immediately after the attack. One of them, the suspected mastermind behind the murder of 57-year-old Guru Ramanand Dass, is still in artificial coma in a Viennese hospital after suffering headshot wounds in the tussle that took place at the temple. — IANS
Guru Ravidass devotees take out rally
London, June 16
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High time CTBT comes into force, says UN chief
United Nations, June 16 The UN General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in September 1996 to ban any nuclear-test explosions anywhere. Ban said the conclusion of the treaty was “an important milestone in norm-setting and marked a significant achievement in field of disarmament and non-proliferation”. “But for too long, it has not been brought into force,” he said, adding the price for it was “high”. “There is no doubt that the longer the treaty is delayed, the greater the risks and consequences that nuclear weapons will again be tested,” he said.
— PTI
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Indian hurt in Nepal blast
Kathmandu, June 16 Kumal has been admitted to the district hospital in Guleriya. A probe would be held into his antecedents and how he came across the bomb, the police added. The nearly 1,800 km open border between Nepal and India has been a cause of mounting security concern with armed groups and criminals freely crossing over and committing crimes. — IANS
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Five Jaish activists held in Pakistan Lahore, June 16 Soon after the arrests were made, unconfirmed reports said officials of intelligence agencies have arrested Masood Azhar, who is wanted in India for his involvement in several terror attacks. Sialkot district police chief Waqar Chohan, however, only confirmed the arrest of five JeM members. "We have taken five JeM men into custody for their suspicious activities. Maulana Masood Azhar was not among them," he said. Azhar was freed along with two other terrorists in exchange for passengers of an Indian Airlines jet that was hijacked from Kathmandu in Nepal to Kandahar in 1999. — PTI
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Tehran, June 16
