 |
|
|
Taliban target Italian convoy in Kabul, 16 killed
Gilani: I have no love lost for Musharraf
|
|
|
Two Indian families assaulted in Ireland
Don’t break law, Rudd tells Indians
UN official in Colombo
UK royal ‘destroyed’ Diana letters
Qureshi says talks must be unconditional
|
|
Taliban target Italian convoy in Kabul, 16 killed
Kabul/Rome, September 17 The attack has caused shock in Italy at a time when European leaders have been scrambling to reassure people sceptical of their countries' roles in an 8-year-old war that has reached its most violent phase. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said his government was "close to the families of the victims, sharing their pain in this tragic moment, and expresses its solidarity to all members of the Italian mission in Afghanistan, who are working to uphold democracy and freedom in that unfortunate country". The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message sent from a telephone number used by a Taliban spokesman. Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said 10 Afghan civilians were killed and 52 wounded. At the scene, Afghan troops ferried wounded civilians to ambulances near several wrecked Italian military vehicles. The body of at least one dead Italian soldier could be seen lying in the street in front of an armoured truck that bore an Italian flag. Other body parts were scattered near the scene. The chassis of an exploded car had landed dozens of yards away. "I was shopping when I heard a deafening explosion," said witness Shah Mohammad, an elderly man at the site of the blast. Italy's parliament held a minute's silence in honour of the victims but political debate over the mission quickly resumed. Most of the conservative government and the main centre-left opposition broadly support the Afghan mission. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said pulling out Italian troops "would mean surrendering to the logic of terrorism". The far left restated demands for an immediate withdrawal. "The Italian military contingent's presence in Afghanistan is the fruit of a mistaken policy and strategy," said Italian communist leader Paolo Ferrero.
— Reuters
|
|
Gilani: I have no love lost for Musharraf
Islamabad, September 17 Gilani said he was neither aware of nor was a part of any deal for giving Musharraf safe passage after he quit as the President last year."I have no love lost for Musharraf," he said. Reports about a safe exit being provided to Musharraf did the rounds in Islamabad after President Asif Ali Zardari reportedly told journalists on Monday that the former military ruler stepped down in the wake of a negotiated settlement guaranteed by international and local stakeholders. Stung by criticism from opposition parties, the presidential spokesman denied Zardari had made the remarks. However, newspapers today quoted reporters who said they had heard Zardari making the comments. One reporter quoted Zardari as saying that "local, regional and international stakeholders were the guarantors" of the deal with Musharraf. Gilani said he was not aware of any deal reached with foreign players to give indemnity to Musharraf. "As for all this talk about some deal having been concluded with Musharraf, you would be right in calling it a deal either the day his actions are indemnified by parliament or if he were to be convicted some day and then pardoned by President Zardari," the premier told reporters at a dinner last night. Explaining his recent comments that Musharraf’s trial on charges of treason for imposing emergency in 2007 was "not doable", Gilani said that while he fully favoured the trial of the former President, it would not be an easy task as some of his "abettors and supporters" were part of the current political structure.
— PTI
|
|
Two Indian families assaulted in Ireland London, September 17 One of the two families, which hails from Kerala, includes two children. They were targeted in what the local police described as hate crimes in the Killicomaine area. The father, who did not want to be identified, is a care worker in a residential home. He was at home with his children when a downstairs window at the front of the house was smashed. His wife, a nurse at Craigavon Area Hospital, was on night duty at the time of the recent attack, reports from Portadown said. In another incident in the same town, three windows were broken in a home occupied by an Indian family. The house was vacated over the weekend and the police believed that the two incidents were caused by the same people. “We were upstairs at the time and a stone smashed through the window. We cannot understand it. We came here from the state of Kerala in South India for a better life and we found most people friendly. But now we cannot stay in this house. It was very frightening,” he said. The man said: “We hope to move to another part of Portadown as our jobs are here and we enjoy our work. We have been so frightened by the attack. We have been living here for six months and loved Portadown, but we cannot subject our two children to this sort of racist attack.” Councillor Kenneth Twyble, a representative for the area, said, “It really is a mindless action on a hard-working family that is contributing much to the community. There is no room for this sort of racism anywhere and I appeal for these people to stop.” South Belfast Alliance MLA Anna Lo, a champion for the migrant population of Northern Ireland, said she is deeply worried that the families were leaving the estates following the attacks. “It is despicable to think that two children were in the house when one of the attacks took place and one can only imagine how traumatic this must have been. I would call on the police to step up their patrolling in the area to provide reassurance to these families at this extremely difficult time.” — PTI
|
|
|
Don’t break law, Rudd tells Indians
Melbourne, September 17 Rudd's reaction came after the local Indian community was told by a writer and activist Farrukh Dhondy to take to “some form of retaliation” following the assault of four men outside a bar in Melbourne earlier this week. Dhondy told a meeting of Indians to take matters into their own hands. “There has to be some form of retaliation from the Indian community. India has to stand up,” he said today. When asked what message he had for anyone who took the law into their own hands, Rudd said: “People should not.” Victorian Premier John Brumby earlier announced, “We will give more powers to the police and give more resources to make sure we get the message out clearly in the community. Anybody who undertakes acts of racism or violence in Victoria will feel the full force of the law.” Brumby, who is to undertake a visit to India next week, said incidents such as the weekend attack on Indian men will make his mission to repair damaged relations between Australia and India all the more difficult. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is also due to visit India.
— PTI
|
|
UN official in Colombo
The UN top political official Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe who arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday night visited camps in the north, which are housing over 280,000 internally displaced Tamils.
He is here to discuss resettlement, political reconciliation and accountability for alleged human rights violations in the island nation, where the government forces defeated Tamil separatists in May after a decades-long conflict, the UN office in Colombo said. He is scheduled to meet with President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday.
|
|
UK royal ‘destroyed’ Diana letters
London, September 17 “Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: The Official Biography”, says Princess Margaret went through her mother's papers in 1993, several months after Prince Charles and Diana had separated. In the book “Diana: Her True Story” it was disclosed that the Princess felt she had been rejected not only by Charles but also by the Queen and other members of the Royal family.
— IANS
|
|
Qureshi says talks must be unconditional
Islamabad/Lahore, September 17 “We want a dialogue with India, but we are not willing to accept any conditions. We want talks in an open and friendly atmosphere. They (India) are mistaken if they think they can achieve anything by putting pressure on Pakistan,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said. Qureshi, who is scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart SM Krishna in New York.
— PTI
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
