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Fazlullah resurfaces in Swat valley
French first lady returns to stage for Mandela concert
Jackson’s death to be treated as murder: Police
Oz minister to visit India
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Gandhi’s gift to Irish friend to go on sale
14-yr jail for SMS joke on Pak prez
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Fazlullah resurfaces in Swat valley
Swat's top Taliban leader Fazlullah is back on air in Swat where the army claims to have successfully established government writ in the troubled region after two months of deadly fighting. Fazlullah, who was reported by the army having been serious injured in an air raid on his hideout, addressed the residents of Swat via his illegal radio station yesterday. It his first public appearance through radio since army launched operation in Swat. Fazlullah was heard on his illegal FM radio channel three or four days ago, residents of Mingora city told reporters. However, they added, the Taliban leader seemed to have lost his drive and was not as aggressive when referring to the security forces as he had once been. “You can feel as if the operation has taken the sting out of him,” trader of the town said. The residents, however, were unable to confirm whether Fazlullah was broadcasting live or whether it was a pre-recorded message to keep the government confused about his present status. Taliban video shows
captive US soldier
Washington/Kabul: The American soldier who went missing on June 30, from his base in eastern Afghanistan and was later confirmed to have been captured, appeared yesterday on a video posted to a website by the Taliban. The US military denounced the video saying the images were Taliban propaganda that violated international law. Military spokesman Captain Jon Stock identified the man in the video as the missing soldier. The military says he went missing in late June. The US military has been distributing leaflets this week seeking his release. The soldier is the first US service member believed to have been captured in Afghanistan since 2002. In the 28-minute video, portions of which were available on the Internet video-sharing site, YouTube, the soldier appeared with his head shaven and a slight beard, wearing traditional grey, loose-fitting Afghan shalwar kameez clothing. —
AP/Reuters Karzai for talks
London: Observing that deployment of more foreign troops is not a solution to rid his country of extremists, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has appealed to the West to develop a new strategy for the war-ravaged nation, including talks with the Taliban, even their top leader Mullah Omar. “Military operations are no longer enough,” Karzai told ‘The Sunday Times’ as the offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan continued to claim the lives of British and other coalition soldiers. “We have to rethink the way we do things - without that there won’t be any improvement. I don’t think the increase in troops will address the problem. We need to concentrate on finding other avenues of defeating terrorism and seeking peace,” the Afghan President said.
— PTI
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French first lady returns to stage for Mandela concert
The anti-apartheid leader's 91st birthday Saturday sparked a concert full of A-list celebrities at New York's Radio City Music Hall, even though Mandela himself could not attend. The wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy performed her hit, "Quelqu'un m'a dit" (Someone told me), with British guitarist Dave Stewart. She also sang a duet of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind”. — DPA
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Jackson’s death to be treated as murder: Police
London, July 19 There will be a criminal trial and it could involve whoever administered the injection and anyone who made it available to the star, the 'News of The World' reported. Terry Harvey, a long-time friend of the Jackson family, told the tabloid: "The autopsy shows that Michael died of a drug overdose with Diprivan and a range of pills in his stomach. He had needle marks on his neck and all over his body. Harvey said Jackson's family were working with the drug enforcement administration and the Los Angeles Police Department to find out which doctor prescribed Michael these drugs. “It is likely to be second-degree murder, due to the actions which led to his death. They have been assured that someone or maybe more than one person, will be brought to trial," he said. Last night Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose office monitors all over-the-counter prescriptions in California, confirmed "We've found some things." He said murder or manslaughter charges could not be ruled out "any time you've got a dead body and chemicals in large quantities." — PTI
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Oz minister to visit India
Sydney, July 19 Evans, arriving in New Delhi on Sunday, aims to reinforce that Australia is a "welcoming and safe destination for Indian students and migrants". At the same time, he concedes there are problems, especially in the vocational education and training (VET) sector that need to be jointly tackled by both countries. Over 50 Indian students were injured in attacks in Australian cities in the last few months, threatening the country's second largest education market. Asked about international students being duped by immigration agents making false promises, Evans said: "We are going to tackle that and the prime minister's task force has been in part focusing on it." He added: "We have registration of migration agents in Australia and that is regulated. There is an onus upon education institutions to use only agents with integrity, but there is also a responsibility upon governments to provide better protection." Evans is to meet a number of Indian officials, including Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi. —
IANS
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Gandhi’s gift to Irish friend to go on sale
London, July 19 The 13-inch-high figure, possibly of the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokitesvara, is estimated to sell for £3,000-5,000 at Bonhams sale of Asian Art. On July 14, three of Gandhi’s autographed letters sold for £4,750 while a signed khadi cloth, which was said to have been woven by him, went under the hammer for £2,125. A letter from Gandhi to Emma, dated September 19, 1934 suggests she volunteered to assist with relief work among the poor in flooded areas of Bihar and Orissa. It might have been on an appropriate occasion, such as this, that Gandhi presented Emma with the Buddhist figure, the auction house said. “Emma Harker who died in 1957 knew Gandhi well, corresponding with him over a number of years, and on one occasion introduced her granddaughter, the owner of this sculpture now, to him,” said James Hammond, head of Asian Art at Bonhams. — PTI
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14-yr jail for SMS joke on Pak prez
Islamabad, July 19 If you mistakenly, or just for fun, share with a friend one of the hundreds of derisory jokes about the leader floating around electronically, you could get a 14-year prison sentence. Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced last week that the Federal Investigation Agency has been tasked to trace SMS and e-mails that "slander the political leadership of the country". In addition to facing up to 14 years in the jail, violators could have their property seized, Malik said. Surrounded by controversy throughout his political career, Zardari has been a subject of harsh public criticism since he was elected as president by the national parliament a year ago. Noman Bashir (23), a student, said initially his friends were frightened by the law but later on they thought up ways to get around it. “We are not running some organised political campaign against Zardari, but we cannot stop writing about him," he said. “You know, he is such a funny character”. —
DPA
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New York, July 19