scare aboard delta airliner
US files charges against Nigerian suspect

Washington, December 27
US federal officials brought criminal charges on Saturday against a Nigerian man suspected of trying to destroy a Northwest Airlines aircraft Friday as it approached the airport in Detroit, Michigan.

The US Department of Justice said that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, had boarded the plane in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and tried near the end of the nine-hour-flight to set off an explosion using PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, a high explosive.

The charges were brought in a make-shift court session at the University of Michigan Hospital, where the suspect was being treated for burns. He had bandages on his hands, spoke in English, and told the district attorney that he could not afford to pay for an attorney, according to a pool reporter who attended the session.

Fellow passengers rushed to subdue the terror suspect after they heard popping sounds and saw smoke and fire coming from Abdulmutallab's seat. Jasper Schuringa, a passenger, described how he jumped over other passengers and seats to get to him because he thought the man was trying to blow up the plane. “The fire was getting worse. I grabbed the suspect out of the seat, to see if he was wearing any more explosives,” Schuringa told CNN.

“The cabin crew came with fire extinguishers and… I helped put out the fire." Schuringa and a cabin attendant grabbed Abdulmutallab and dragged him to the first class department, where "we stripped him… to make sure he had nothing else," Schuringa said.

Abdulmutallab's father in Nigeria, a former government minister and bank official, said he had tipped US security authorities at the US embassy there about suspicions he had about his son, media reports said.

The ANP news agency in the Netherlands reported that the father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, had informed US authorities his son had studied in London but left Britain to travel. Although he did not know where his son planned to go, the banker from northern Nigeria said believed his son had been to Yemen.

British police have searched Abdulmutallab's apartment in London's West End, near Oxford Circus. US justice officials, who interviewed passengers and crew of Flight 253 afterwards, said it appeared Abdulmutallab had gone to the bathroom for about 20 minutes. When he returned to his seat, he complained of stomach ache and pulled a blanket over his lap.

“Passengers then heard popping noises similar to firecrackers, smelled an odour, and some observed Abdulmutallabs pants leg and the wall of the airplane on fire,” the statement said.

“Passengers reported that Abdulmutallab was calm and lucid throughout. One flight attendant asked him what he had had in his pocket, and he replied 'explosive device',” justice officials said.

FBI agents also recovered apparent remnants of a syringe from the vicinity of Abdulmutallab's seat, believed to have been part of the device, justice officials said in a statement.

“This alleged attack on a US airplane on Christmas Day shows that we must remain vigilant in the fight against terrorism at all times," Attorney General Eric Holder said. "Had this alleged plot to destroy an airplane been successful, scores of innocent people would have been killed or injured."

The federal criminal charges focused on Abdulmutallab's alleged attempt to destroy the aircraft and on his placing a destructive device on the aircraft. Abdulmutallab, who suffered burn wounds, was treated in hospital. — DPA

Connection with Al-Qaida ‘plausible’

Same material used by shoe bomber

Washington, December 27
PETN, the explosive used by the Nigerian Al-Qaida suspect in his attempt to blow up a US passenger plane on Christmas day is the same material used by convicted show bomber Richard Reid in 2001, according to the preliminary analysis by the FBI. Reid had in December 2001 attempted to bomb a trans-Atlantic flight by igniting explosive material called PETN; a high explosive which is also known as pentaerythritol, smuggled aboard in his shoes.

The 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been charged with attempting to blow up a Northwest Airlines aircraft when it was approaching Detroit airport on Christmas day with 278 persons on board, FBI said yesterday.

In addition, FBI agents recovered what appear to be the remnants of the syringe from the vicinity of Abdulmutallab's seat, believed to have been part of the device. Further analysis is ongoing. PETN is said to be one of the most powerful explosives, which is more sensitive to shock or friction than TNT or tetryl, and it is never used alone. PETN was massively used by the German government in World War I, before Richard Reid used it in 2001. — PTI 

Londonistan: Terror capital of the West?

London, December 27
Britain has now emerged as the "terror capital of the West" as whenever a major terrorist attack is attempted, suspicion swings on this country, a media report said today.

“It comes as no surprise to learn that the Nigerian accused of blowing up the US airliner is said to have been living here. We have become the number one source of terrorism in the Western world. We shelter foreign jihadis, and even grow our own… For years now, Islamic extremists wanted on terror charges in their own country have taken sanctuary in Britain… Our judges (not our politicians) say it would be cruel to send them back to their own countries, in case they're tortured,” the 'News of the World' quoted the Editor of Spectacle, Fraser Nelson, as saying.

Years ago, the CIA had a name for it: "Londonistan". And 23-year-old Umar Abdul Mutallab, who allegedly attempted to blow up a US airliner, may have been a part of it, he said.

“As we focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Al-Qaida starts to change its tactics, hoping to blindside us. This is the risk we all live with. The war on terror, or should I say the terrorists' war on us, is still all too real… Abdul Mutallab may well have been a paid-up member of al Qaeda (with a short pension plan). Or just a wannabe.”

“But it is typical of al Qaeda to strike on Christmas day, aiming to kill as many Christians as they can. Yet again, a deadly airline plot failed. It's a chilling reminder of the threat very much still in our midst,” he wrote in the British tabloid. — PTI

Was listed in terror database

Washington/Abuja, December 27
The terror suspect, charged with attempt to blow up a US plane, was listed in an American terrorism database last month on inputs given by his Nigerian father but was not put on the 'no-fly' list.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was added to the US terror database Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE) after his banker father informed the US Embassy in Nigeria about the radical views of his son. Said to be a catch-all list into which all terrorist- related information is sent, the database has about 550,000 individuals' name. However, his name was not on the 4,000 strong no-fly list of the Transportation Security Administration, as there was not sufficient information available on him so far. The father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a former Chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria, said yesterday that he travelled from his home in northern Nigeria to Abuja to meet officials as he feared the man apprehended by the FBI was his son.

Mutallab said his son, an engineering student left London to travel, though he did not know where he was heading. "I believe he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that," he was quoted as saying by CBS news.

Meanwhile, Nigerian daily 'This Day' reported, quoting family members, that the father is shocked that his son was even allowed to fly to the US. Abdulmutallab was not placed on any watch list for flights into the US because there was "insufficient derogatory information available" to include him, another administration official said, The Washington Post reported.

Abdulmutallab, 23, has been charged with "willfully" attempting to destroy the Amsterdam-Detroit Northwest Flight 253 and with placing a destructive device on the aircraft. He was subdued and restrained by the passengers and flight crew soon after his failed attempt. He was produced before a makeshift court in a Detroit hospital, where he is being treated for burn injuries. He was rolled into a conference room in a wheelchair for the hearing.

Asked whether he understood the charges against him, he replied: "Yes, I do". When a federal prosecutor asked how he was doing, Abdulmutallab replied, "I feel better". Abdulmutallab, the officials said, was issued a multiple entry two-year tourist visa by the US Embassy in London in July 2008.

Since then he is reported to have travelled to the US at least twice. He did not raise any red flags during screening before boarding the flight at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, one of the most heavily secured air facilities in the world, a senior administration official said. "We interviewed him, and his name was run against the watch list maintained by (the Department of Homeland Security) and the FBI," a official was quoted as saying by The Post. "There was no indication of any derogatory information. There is every indication that whatever radicalisation took place occurred recently," the official said. — PTI

Security beefed up at American airports 

Washington, December 27
All major airports in the US and all America-bound flights around the world have been put on extra security vigil following a failed attempt to destroy a Detroit-bound plane.

Against this backdrop, the US has asked airlines worldwide to tighen security on all flights to the country. President Barack Obama has called for "all appropriate measures" to be taken in the wake of the incident. American Airlines says the US Transportation Security Administration has issued "new security measures for all flights departing from any foreign location to the US".

He was overpowered by fellow passengers before he could detonate explosives on Christmas. The passengers are also being put through additional security checks at the airports. Airlines are applying enhanced security measures both outside and inside the plane. "Passengers may notice additional screening measures put into place to ensure the safety of the travelling public on domestic and international flights," Homeland Security spokesperson Sara Kuban said in a statement here. "We encourage the public travelling to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behaviour to law enforcement officials," the statement added.

Meanwhile, the British Airways on its website said the US had revised its security arrangements for all customers travelling into the US. "Please be aware that due to these revised security arrangements for all customers departing on a flight from Heathrow or Gatwick to the US only one item of hand luggage is allowed," the British airlines said. Air Canada advised its passengers going to the US to arrive early at airports to allow extra time to clear security screening. "Passengers should also expect flight delays, cancellations and missed connections, and limit themselves to a single piece of carry-on baggage," an advisory on Air Canada's website said. It also notes that during the final hour of the flight, all passengers must remain seated and no personal items will be allowed in their laps. President Obama, on a Christmas break in Hawaii, has been informed of the situation and has called for heightened security aboard all planes flying in and out of the US, the White House said. "The President is actively monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates," a spokesperson said, noting that Obama had "instructed that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel." — PTI

Zardari vows to nail ‘non-state actors’ 

Islamabad, December 27
Beleaguered Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari today pledged to defeat conspiracies by “non-state actors” who want to break up the country and made it clear that the PPP-led government would overcome all challenges confronting it.

Zardari made a rare public appearance at Garhi Khuda Baksh in Sindh province to address a gathering on the second death anniversary of his slain wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, and said certain “non-state actors want to break up Pakistan”.

There was also a conspiracy to weaken the provinces, he alleged.

The ruling Pakistan People’s Party would overcome the challenges confronting it and the country and elements hatching conspiracies against the government will not succeed, he said.

The PPP will not allow non-state actors to turn Pakistan into another dysfunctional state like Iraq or Afghanistan, he said.

The PPP has worked for political reconciliation in line with the policies of its founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir, Zardari said.

The party had “saved Pakistan” in difficult circumstances, including a global economic recession, and made “difficult decisions” with the backing of its workers, he said.

Zardari, whose approval ratings have hit rock bottom, did not name the “non-state actors” involved in hatching conspiracies against the country and the PPP.

Zardari is also facing fresh challenges since the Supreme Court struck down a graft amnesty earlier this month but he made no mention of the judiciary in his speech.

He took a swipe at critics and detractors who have accused him of being reluctant to give up the President’s sweeping powers, including the ability to dissolve parliament, and his failure to appear in public in recent months.

Zardari noted that he had handed over control of the country’s nuclear arsenal to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani “without being asked” to do so.

He also defended the government decision to ask the UN to probe the assassination of Benazir Bhutto two years ago, saying the provincial and national assemblies had passed unanimous resolutions for such an investigation.

“Why are some quarters objecting now? There must be some secret behind their stand,” he said.

Zardari, who wore a black sherwani and was flanked by his children Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Asifa, recalled the sacrifices made by the PPP and its leaders and the party’s contribution to Pakistan’s nuclear and missile programmes.

The PPP had removed military ruler Pervez Musharraf from the presidency through dialogue and is “ready to make all sacrifices...to save Pakistan”, he said.

The PPP would also take on anyone who cast “an evil eye at democracy” in Pakistan, he added. — PTI 

Mystery of Van Gogh’s missing ear ‘solved’ 

London, December 27
His paintings are known the world over, but it was Vincent Van Gogh's missing ear that continues to fascinate and puzzle people even today.

Now, the mystery behind the most famous mutilation in art history seems to have finally been solved, after a scholar has found evidence that Van Gogh slashed his ear after he came to know his beloved brother Theo was about to get married.

Martin Bailey has devised his theory after meticulous detective work on a letter in a painting that the Dutch artist completed soon after he injured himself, British newspaper 'The Sunday Times' reported.

Bailey has concluded that this letter was written by Theo from Paris in December 1888 and contained the news of his engagement. This tipped Van Gogh, who was psychologically disturbed, into self-harm, according to him.

"Vincent was fearful that he might lose his brother's emotional and financial support," Bailey writes in an upcoming edition of 'The Art Newspaper'.

Bailey has also dismissed all the earlier theories surrounding Van Gogh's ear which went missing just before the 1888 Christmas, including his mental illness and that he mutilated his body part in a quarrel over a prostitute called Rachel.

In fact, Bailey has assembled his evidence partly from close study of Van Gogh's Still Life: Drawing Board with Onions, a work completed at the beginning of 1889.

It includes an envelope on a table. Bailey examined it microscopically and found the number 67 inside a circle. This was the official mark of a post office in Place des Abbesses, close to the apartment in Montmartre occupied by Theo, an art dealer who regularly provided money for Vincent.

The envelope has a special frank mark that says "New Year's Day" and Bailey believes Van Gogh deliberately put the envelope in the painting because of its deep significance.

Vincent usually received his allowance from Theo on or about the 23rd of each month, although sometimes he received two a month. It is known from a letter he wrote to Theo at the end of January 1889 that he had received what he called "the much-needed money" on December 23.

Bailey argues that the letter in the painting contained the news from Theo that he had proposed to his girlfriend, Johanna Bonger. The letter, dated December 21, is from Theo to his mother seeking permission to marry. "Vincent would surely have been next to be told," said Bailey. — PTI 

Couple who share chores ‘stay together’

Israel’s blockade violating rights of Palestinians, says UN

A Palestinian boy holds up a shoe to a banner depicting (from left) Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defence Minister Ehud Barak, army chief Lieut-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi and opposition party leader Tzipi Livni during a rally in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip marking the first anniversary of Israel's three-week offensive in Gaza on Sunday. — Reuters

United Nations, December 27
On the anniversary of Israel's siege of the Gaza strip, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today said issues that led to this conflict remain unresolved and the blockade of borders by Tel Aviv was violating Palestinians' basic human rights.

The Secretary-General also asked Palestinian outfit Hamas not to resort to violence and called on people of both countries to work out a solution to end the decades-old conflict.

"There is a sense of hopelessness in Gaza today for 1.5 million Palestinians, half of whom are under eighteen.

Their fate and the well-being of Israelis are intimately connected," Ban's spokesperson said in a statement.

"The quality and quantity of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza is insufficient. Broader economic and reconstruction activity is paralysed, and the people of Gaza are denied basic human rights," he said.

A UN fact-finding mission led by Justice Richard Goldstone has found strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Hamas and Israeli forces during the military assault from December 27, 2008, to January 21, 2009, that killed 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.

Last month, the General Assembly passed a resolution endorsing the report and asked Israeli and Palestinian authorities, within three months, to investigate crimes committed during the attack on the Gaza strip failing which the matter will be placed before the Security Council.

Noting that Egypt has tirelessly worked for Palestinian unity but without a breakthrough, Ban underlined the urgent need for a fundamentally different approach.

"The Secretary-General calls on Israel to end the unacceptable and counter-productive blockade of Gaza, facilitate economic activity and civilian reconstruction, and fully respect and uphold international law," the spokesperson said.

"The Secretary-General also calls on all Palestinians to work for unity and elections within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority," he added. The latest UN report on humanitarian conditions in the Occupied Palestinian territory says Israeli settlements continue to build in violation of international law in West Bank and East Jerusalem, and attempts to remove them has led to fresh violence against Palestinians. — PTI 

Probe ordered after NRI’s death

London, December 27
Mahesh Mehta, who migrated from India to the UK 30 years ago and went on to build a vegetable wholesale company and emerge as a popular member of the Indian community, has died following a brutal assault.

Mehta, 55, was kicked and punched by assailants, as he lay helpless on the ground outside a branch of HSBC in south London.

The assailants then fled with a small amount of his money. Mehta was rushed to hospital suffering from a broken eye socket, smashed nose and facial injuries.

The attack happened on October 19 but Mehta never recovered. He died of his injuries in hospital on November 13.

The police have now launched a murder investigation after the initial results of a postmortem.

They believe his death could be liked to several robberies of customers leaving banks in the area. Detective Inspector Dave Willis said: “Mr Mehta was a hard-working family man.

The attack on him particularly callous and the level of violence was both senseless and uncontrolled”. He added: “I am eager to speak with a woman who acted as a Good Samaritan towards to Mr Mehta.I would be pleased to speak to anyone in confidence at anytime.

“It has been more than two months since this violent attack and it is crucial for the victim’s family that members of the public come forward if they witnessed this incident or if they can help in anyway.” — PTI