Though Pakistani army has been bombarding the fringes of Waziristan district for the past week, the military gave no clue of the timing of its new offensive into the area which has long been a safe haven for Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and even al-Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden.

The military statement giving out operational details of the fighting in adjacent Dir, Swat and Buner districts made no mention of the new operation.

The military bombardment of hideouts of thousands of Mehsud’s fighters continued overnight as surveillance planes, including US Predator drones made swoops over the region, TV channels reported.

The channel reported that dozens of Taliban fighters had been killed in recent large scale air strikes in South Waziristan and Bajaur tribal regions. As the military strikes continued, there were reports tens of thousands of people were fleeing the region.

As the military prepared to strike the Taliban in their den, heavily armed frontier tribesmen continued to unleash their fury on the terrorists killing six militants. — PTI 

London, June 17
A month after their defeat in the hands of the Sri Lankan army, the remnants of the LTTE plan to reorganise and pursue the goal of a separate Tamil state from abroad, with the rebels’ international relations chief Selvaras Pathmanathan taking the lead.

“The struggle of the people of Tamil Eelam has reached a new stage. It is time now for us to move forward with our political vision towards our freedom,” Pathmanathan said in an e-mail audio file that has flown around the Tamil diaspora, the British media, including BBC and The Times, reported.

Pathmanathan, who is wanted by Interpol in connection with his role as the Tigers’ main arms smuggler, gave no indication that the group would renounce violence but announced the establishment of a “provisional transnational government of Tamil Eelam”.

He said Rudrakumaran Vishwanathan, their overseas-based legal adviser, would head a committee, which would decide on a future course of action “within democratic principles”.

Tamil Eelam is the name given by the Tigers to the north and eastern areas of Sri Lanka to which they lay claim.

Pathmanathan is one of a handful of senior cadres who escaped annihilation last month because he is based overseas.

It is not clear from where has he issued the message, media reports said.

In the final phase of the battle, the troops eliminated the top Tamil Tiger leadership, including its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The Sri Lankan government has dismissed the so-called ‘provisional transnational’ government, pointing out that the LTTE does not exist any more.

“The LTTE is no longer a factor. It was military defeated and it cannot achieve a separate state even if it had the military prowess What can it do it now?” Lankan Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa was quoted as saying.

The Tigers are a banned terrorist group in most Western countries. Last week, the founder of the British Tamil Association was sentenced to two years in jail for illegally procuring electrical components for the group. — PTI

Almost four weeks after he assumed the office, Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal today expanded his cabinet second-time by appointing five ministers and six ministers of the state.

He, however, failed to give a complete shape to his cabinet as the major coalition partners mainly Madhes-based parties — Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF)— led by Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar faction, Terai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) and Sadbhavana Party (SP) - refrained sending their representatives in the government expressing dissatisfaction over the distribution of ministerial berths.At the presence of President Ram Baran Yadav at his office this afternoon, the Prime Minister administered the oath of office and secrecy to five ministers - four from his party Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML) and one from Nepali Congress - and six ministers of state - three each from the UML and NC - dividing their portfolios.

Toronto, June 17
A Canadian parliamentary body has cleared Indian origin MP Ruby Dhalla of charges of exploiting two Filipino nannies at her home and taking away their passports. But the high-profile politician is not yet off the hook as the committee has also asked “authorised bodies” to probe the allegations.

A rising star in Canadian politics, 35-year-old Dhalla suddenly faced a political storm last month when Magdalene Gordo and Richelyn Tongson, who were hired by Dhalla in early 2008 to take care of her mother, publicly alleged they were underpaid and overworked.

The nannies also alleged that their passports were taken away and they were forced to do non-nanny jobs like cleaning shoes and washing cars.

A parliamentary committee, which heard Dhalla and the nannies, last week cleared her personally but recommended that “authorised bodies investigate the allegations of the former live-in caregivers in the Dhalla residence and take measures as appropriate”.

Her supporters alleged that it was a “political conspiracy at the top level” to wrest her seat by destroying her reputation through a smear campaign.

Maintaining her innocence, Dhalla said she could not understand how “the caregivers came forward with false, unsubstantiated and baseless allegations almost 15 months after their employment”.

Being struggling immigrants themselves once, she said her family could not even think of exploiting anyone.

A former Miss India-Canada runner-up, Dhalla has been rated as the third hottest woman politicians in the world by Maxim magazine. She has been touted as a minister in any future government by her Liberal Party. — IANS