W O R L D

Afghan polls: Recounting of votes ordered
Kabul, September 8
The UN-backed commission charged with investigating Afghanistan's presidential election said today that it has found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in the results and ordered a re-count of ballots from questionable polling stations.

Byatt, Coetzee top Man Booker shortlist
London, September 8
Familiar names headed the shortlist for one of the world's top literary awards on Tuesday with JM Coetzee and AS Byatt two of the six authors left in the running for the coveted Man Booker Prize.

The six shortlisted novels for the Man Booker Prize 2009 are seen at the end of a news conference to announce the finalists in London on Tuesday. — AP/PTI

Soldiers secure the site of the car bomb, outside the entrance to the military airport, in Kabul, on Tuesday. A car bomb exploded near the entrance to Kabul’s military airport in an apparent attack on an international convoy, killing two civilians and wounding six. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast. — AP/PTI

Zardari inks autonomy order for Gilgit, Baltistan
President Asif Ali Zardari has signed the Gilgit-Baltistan(Empowerment and Self-governance) Order, 2009, aimed at introducing far-reaching administrative, political, financial and judicial reforms in Northern areas.

Lanka tells Channel 4 to retract controversial video footage
The Sri Lanka government on Monday warned the British news network Channel 4 to retract the controversial video it aired recently showing executions being carried out allegedly by members of the security forces during the last weeks of fighting with the Tamil Tigers in the north of the country saying it would take legal action against the channel if it failed to do so.

Patil chief guest at Tajikistan I-Day
Dushanbe, September 8
In a rare honour, President Pratibha Patil today witnessed as chief guest the Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan marked by a colourful cultural programme, including dance performances by schoolchildren on Bollywood numbers.

40 militants killed in Pak
Islamabad, September 8
More than 40 Taliban were gunned down in fresh fighting with security forces and 10 people were killed today in the second US missile strike in as many days in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt.

Afghan polls: Recounting of votes ordered

Kabul, September 8
The UN-backed commission charged with investigating Afghanistan's presidential election said today that it has found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in the results and ordered a re-count of ballots from questionable polling stations.

Widespread allegations of ballot-box stuffing and suspicious tallies are threatening the legitimacy of Afghanistan's August 20 vote as the country awaits final results. More than 720 major fraud charges have been lodged with the Electoral Complaints Commission.

The commission's announcement comes with results from nearly three-quarters of polling stations already released.Incumbent President Hamid Karzai stands just shy of the 50 per cent of the vote he needs to avoid a run-off election with his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah.

The commission's order to re-count some results adds to the uncertainty surrounding the vote. A credible election is seen as critical to the Western-backed efforts to stabilise Afghanistan and win public support for the fight against the Taliban insurgency.

Stations showing 100 per cent turnout or with a presidential candidate receiving more than 95 per cent of the vote will need to be audited and recounted, the commission said in a statement. Stations with fewer than 100 ballots will be exempted from the process.

The commission, comprising three international members and two Afghans, has the power to order a re-count of any ballots with strong indications of irregularities. The international members are appointed by the UN and the Afghans by the Afghan Supreme Court and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.

The Afghan Election Commission, a separate body that runs the entire election process, has so far thrown out votes from 447 stations - about 200,000 ballots - because of fraud, officials said.

"The numbers were suspicious and the results did not match with the reconciliation form" used to double-check results, said Daoud Ali Najafi, the CEO of the Afghan body. — AP

Byatt, Coetzee top Man Booker shortlist

London, September 8
Familiar names headed the shortlist for one of the world's top literary awards on Tuesday with JM Coetzee and AS Byatt two of the six authors left in the running for the coveted Man Booker Prize.

Byatt (73), who won the prize in 1990 for her novel "Possession", makes the 2009 shortlist with "The Children's Book", the tale of a famous writer who pens a separate, private book for each of her children, complete with family mysteries. The novel explores issues of class, love, politics and idealism among families across generations, exploring rebellious sons and wayward daughters, who dream of independent futures. Writers writing about writers also forms the basis of "Summertime", the 2009 entry for South African novelist Coetzee, a mainstay of the Man Booker shortlist in the recent years. Coetzee, who will become the only writer to take the prize three times if he is named the winner on October 6, tells the story of a young biographer, who is working on a book about the late writer John Coetzee. As he interviews friends and relatives, a complex picture emerges of Coetzee's past and character.

The work completes a trilogy of fictionalised memoirs for Coetzee (69), who has previously produced "Boyhood" and "Youth". Coetzee, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003, first won the Booker prize in 1983 for "Life & Times of Michael K" and repeated the feat in 1999 with "Disgrace".

Another notable contender on the shortlist - and one strongly backed by bookmakers, who make her favourite for the $80,000 prize - is Hilary Mantel (57), whose intricately woven historical novels have a strong following. — Reuters

Zardari inks autonomy order for Gilgit, Baltistan
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

President Asif Ali Zardari has signed the Gilgit-Baltistan(Empowerment and Self-governance) Order, 2009, aimed at introducing far-reaching administrative, political, financial and judicial reforms in Northern areas.

The move has been welcomed by the people of Gilgit and most political parties in the country. However, some Kashmiri leaders say it would adversely affect Pakistan’s traditional stance on Kashmir. India also took exception to the decision claiming that the region is the part of Jammu and Kashmir state, which has already acceded to India.

Successive governments in Pakistan have resisted demand from people of Gilgit to merge the region while maintaining the final fate of Kashmir has to be decided by the people of Kashmir in keeping with the UN resolutions. Explaining salient features of the order, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar told reporters that Gilgit-Baltistan would now have an elected legislative assembly, which would elect a Chief Minister. The Governor would be nominated by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Chief Minister will be elected by the legislative assembly and would be assisted by six ministers and two advisers.

The assembly will have 24 members to be elected directly. Besides, there will be six women and three technocrats’ seats. The assembly, he said, would have powers to make laws on 61 subjects.

Babar said Gilgit-Baltistan would have its own public service commission, a chief election commissioner and an auditor-general.

Lanka tells Channel 4 to retract controversial video footage
Chandani Kirinde writes from Colombo

The Sri Lanka government on Monday warned the British news network Channel 4 to retract the controversial video it aired recently showing executions being carried out allegedly by members of the security forces during the last weeks of fighting with the Tamil Tigers in the north of the country saying it would take legal action against the channel if it failed to do so.

The government warning came after Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that analysis conducted by four experts on the video had provided scientific evidence to prove that it was a fake and a heavily tampered video.

The contradictions in the video were shown to a gathering of several European envoys in Colombo on Tuesday.

Minister Samarasinghe said in addition to the scientific evidence obtained, the Defence Ministry had also conducted investigations to ascertain whether there members of the security forces similar to the people appearing in the video footage and said it has been established that the people appearing in the video were not from the Sri Lanka military.

The government has said it would also ask other international media channels which had picked up the Channel 4 video to retract it.

Patil chief guest at Tajikistan I-Day

Dushanbe, September 8
In a rare honour, President Pratibha Patil today witnessed as chief guest the Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan marked by a colourful cultural programme, including dance performances by schoolchildren on Bollywood numbers.

Patil, who is on a three-day visit to this country, took part in the function along with her Tajikistan counterpart Emomali Rahmon, Prime Minister Akil Akilov and other top dignitaries.

Apart from traditional dances, children performed to the tunes of Hindi movies’ songs, which received huge applause from the audience. Patil, who spoke in Hindi on the occasion, recalled the traditional ties between the two countries. — PTI

40 militants killed in Pak

Islamabad, September 8
More than 40 Taliban were gunned down in fresh fighting with security forces and 10 people were killed today in the second US missile strike in as many days in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt.

Meanwhile, during search and clearance operations in the recently-retaken Swat valley in the northwest, troops captured 30 militants, authorities said.

At least six militants were killed when helicopter gunships pounded Taliban hideouts in several areas of Orakzai tribal region.

Ten militants were killed when security forces pounded their hideouts with artillery overnight, the Frontier Corps said. Four security personnel were injured when their vehicle was targeted with a remote-controlled bomb in Bara this morning. — PTI