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Terror attack on US plane averted
Headley didn’t disclose Pak origin in visa papers
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Will return when time is right: Musharraf
Pak troops capture ultras’ bastion
Nepal constitution panel rejects Maoist proposal
Eurotunnel blames Eurostar for lapse
Vitamin C to help create stem cells
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Terror attack on US plane averted
Washington, December 26 The man, 23, who sustained burn injuries in the failed bid, later reportedly told interrogators that explosive powder was taped to his leg and he used a syringe to inject chemicals into it to cause an explosion on the trans-Atlantic flight. However, the device malfunctioned, and as smoke and fire erupted from his seat, co-passengers pounced on him and along with the crew dragged him to the front of the plane. Two other passengers reported minor injuries, but the plane was able to land safely, the New York Times quoted an anti-terrorism official as saying. The incident has prompted the FBI to issue a nationwide red alert. Muttalab, who is being questioned by the FBI and other federal investigative agencies has reportedly said he had links to the Al-Qaida and that he had travelled to Yemen “to collect the incendiary device and instructions on how to use it,” said The Washington Post. The FBI agents are investigating the incident on the suspicion that it was an attempted act of terrorism, the official said. The passengers, who later gave an account said there was panic after fire was seen in the midst of the passengers. The US national Syed Jafry, who had flown from the UAE, said people ran out of their seats to tackle the man. Jafry said that he was sitting in the 16th row -- three rows ahead of the passenger -- when he heard “a pop and saw some smoke and fire”. He told the newspaper that there was a little bit of commotion for about 10 to 15 minutes. The incident occurred during the plane's descent, he added. Officials described the device as more “incendiary rather than explosive,” The Post said. Federal officials said the man wanted to bring the plane down. Ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, King, who was briefed on the incident, said something had gone wrong with the explosive device, which was “somewhat sophisticated”. King said there must be investigation into how the Nigerian managed to sneak in such sophisticated device and explosives inside the plane. Meanwhile, Homeland Security said passengers may notice additional screening measures put into place, to ensure the safety of the travelling public on domestic and international flights. Though, Abdulmuttalab's name appears to be included in the government's records of terrorism suspects, but he is not on the "no-fly" list. The US President Barack Obama, on a Christmas vacation in Hawaii, was immediately briefed about the incident by his military aide, White House spokesman Bill Burton said.
— PTI
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Headley didn’t disclose Pak origin in visa papers
Washington, December 26 Headley, who was earlier called Dawood Gilani, gave 'Headley' as his last name at birth in his visa application and wrote his father's name as 'William Headley', according to reliable information. The Pakistani-American, charged with criminal conspiracy in the attack that killed 166 persons in Mumbai, had changed his name to David Headley apparently to conceal his Muslim or Pakistani identity, the FBI charge sheet against him says. In his visa application he did not disclose his Pakistani origin and that cannot be traced from his passport as his parents names do not appear in the US passport and his place of birth is also Washington. The information provided by Headley matched that on his passport and the documents submitted by him and since the US passport has no such details as parents names or previous nationality, it could not have alerted the Consulate. Besides, Headley's and his accomplice Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana's names do not appear in the government of India blacklist or one maintained by the embassy as till then there were no adverse intelligence inputs against them. Headley, 48, and Rana, 49, were arrested in October by the FBI for plotting attacks in India and for involvement in the Mumbai attacks in which six Americans also died. Reports that Headley and Rana's visa papers were missing had created ripples, prompting Ministry of External Affairs to seek a factual report from the diplomatic mission in Chicago. However, the original visa application form along with the attached documents were later "retrieved" from the Chicago consulate's record room. Headley and Rana both travelled to India on multi-entry visas issued by the Indian mission. Headley made several trips to India to get videos and pictures of terrorist targets in Mumbai at the behest of the LeT. He submitted his business sponsor letter from the Immigrant Law Center owned by Raymond Sanders, a US national. Rana and his wife Samraz Rana Akhtar disclosed their Pakistani origin in their visa applications. However, as per circular of 2005 issued by Ministry of Home Affairs, no prior reference to MHA was required for Canadian nationals of Pakistani origin. Rana has submitted business sponsor letters from 'Immigrant Law Center'. He submitted original property tax payment notice from the Cook County towards his address proof. — PTI
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Will return when time is right: Musharraf
“I will surely return to Pakistan. The timing, however, is of essence,” he said on the Facebook social networking site while replying to questions. His return was mainly dependent on the domestic environment, Musharraf said. Musharraf had stepped down last year under an elaborate deal worked out between Saudi Arabia, Britain and the US under which the Pakistani government committed not to initiate any action against him for his omissions and commissions in office 1999-2008. Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz reminded the Pakistani leadership of this in September and urged it to abide by the agreement. Abdullah, who played a key role in that agreement, conveyed the message to visiting Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik during his nearly one-hour meeting with him. That, however, was not the end of Musharraf's travails as in November a Pakistani court directed that its order summoning the former president in a treason case be published in newspapers in London, where he was based. A division bench of the Sindh High Court comprising Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah issued the directive while hearing a petition seeking the registration of a treason case against Musharraf for subverting the constitution by declaring an emergency November 3, 2007. The order came after the court was informed that the summons could not be served as Musharraf was currently in London. The court had originally issued the summons in April on a petition filed by Moulvi Iqbal Haider of the Awami Himayat Tehrik, an insignificant political party. However, going by Musharraf's track record, he is unlikely to respond to the summons even if it is published in a newspaper. In July, he had ignored a Supreme Court summons while it was hearing a petition urging that the emergency be declared illegal, which the court subsequently accepted.
— IANS
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Pak troops capture ultras’ bastion
Security forces took over on Saturday the strategic Chapri Ferozkhel area on the border of the Orakzai and Khyber agencies.
Troops had launched an offensive from two sides on militant strongholds inside the Orakzai tribal region. The air and ground offensive
was launched from the Hangu and Kurram agencies, resulting in the taking over of the strategic area. An Army spokesman said the area served as the main supply and travel route for militants, who then carried out terrorist activities across the NWFP. Important routes leading to Darra Adamkhel, Tirrah Valley and Orakzai were also cleared. These routes were used by militants involved in suicide attacks and car bomb explosions. In a related development, at least five people were killed and three others injured in an exchange of fire between militants from the Ansarul Islam and Lashkar-i-Islam organisations in the Khyber agency. According to official sources, armed supporters of the two groups had taken positions and were using heavy weapons in order to target rival hideouts in the Tirrah Valley. At least two houses were also destroyed in the clashes. Hundreds have been killed in bloody clashes between the two groups in the past
five years. Meanwhile, in Mohmand, four militants were killed and seven others injured during an exchange of fire with security forces in the Safi
tehsil.
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Nepal constitution panel rejects Maoist proposal
Kathmandu, December 26 The 63 member Constitutional Committee adopted voting procedure to sort out 11 headings related to different provisions, including national anthem, national flag, provision of emergency, name of the constitution, state authority and political parties. The new Constitution will be called "The Constitution of Nepal-2010" with the approval of the majority of members. The Maoist proposal to put the words "People´s war" in the preamble has been rejected through majority votes while the proposal to incorporate the words 'Madhes movement' has been endorsed through a majority of votes. The Maoists claim that their decade long war that claimed 15,000 persons was mainly responsible for abolishing monarchy and establishing a federal democratic republic in Nepal, while the other political parties argue that the 19 day peaceful movement was the main thirst behind it.
— PTI
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Eurotunnel blames Eurostar for lapse
Paris, December 26 The tunnel operator strongly rejected suggestions that it contributed to the chaos when 2,000 passengers were trapped for a night in five trains that broke down in the tunnel between Britain and France on December 18. ”We have, here and there, been unjustly suspected of not acting as we should have done" after the breakdown, Eurotunnel said yesterday in a statement. Eurotunnel said the time it took to evacuate the passengers "was unfortunately extended because the Eurostar teams, in complete violation of the safety procedures, asked passengers to take their bags with them". The tunnel group also criticised Eurostar's communications with the passengers. "Although in continued contact with our teams, it is clear that the Eurostar teams obviously did not give the right information to passengers". The statement added that this had "led to a movement of worry" in the affected trains where the passengers had no food or water. In response to the claims, Eurostar said an independent review was underway "to establish exactly what happened".
— AFP
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Vitamin C to help create stem cells
London, December 26 An international team has discovered that the vitamin boosts the reprogramming of adult cells only to give them the properties of embryonic stem cells, a finding which paves the way for creating the reprogrammed cells -- induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs), 'The Daily Telegraph' reported. According to the scientists, IPSCs offer a solution to the ethical problems involved in producing embryonic stem cells with the potential to become any kind of human tissue, from bone to brain. The conversion of ordinary cells into IPSCs is highly inefficient and difficult to achieve. Often the cells age prematurely and stop dividing or may die, a process known as senescence. Adding vitamin C to the cell cultures was found to hold back senescence and make reprogramming much more efficient. Experiments with both mouse and human cells showed that the vitamin accelerated genetic changes and boosted the transition to a reprogrammed state. Dr Duanqing Pei, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou, who led the research, said, "It is also of interest that a vitamin with long-suspected anti-ageing effects has such a potent influence on reprogramming, which can be considered a reversal of the ageing process at the cellular level. It is likely that our work may stimulate further research in this area as well". The findings have been published in the latest edition of the 'Cell Stem Cell' journal.
— PTI
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London, December 26