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Pak Taliban confirms Hakimullah’s death
Lanka: Charges against Fonseka warranted arrest
Haiti Quake
Man pulled out alive from rubble
Indian cabbie assaulted in UK
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Pak Taliban confirms Hakimullah’s death
The Taliban based in Orakzai Agency confirmed on Tuesday that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud is dead. Pakistani private TV channels including the Dawn News cited Taliban sources as confirming that Mehsud died on Sunday in Multan while he was being shifted from tribal areas to Karachi for treatment. Mehsud was seriously wounded in a US missile fired by drone predator on January 14. He was receiving treatment in Orakzai agency in tribal areas but his colleagues decided to shift him to Karachi because of inadequate medical facilities and for fear of another missile attack. On way near Multan he succumbed to injuries. However, Geo TV also quoted Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq as denying that Mehsud is dead. Government officials too have confirmed his death. American and Pakistani officials had been saying Mehsud was dead since the past few weeks. Hakimullah Mehsud succeeded his cousin Baitullah Mehsud who too was killed by a US drone last summer. Hakimullah proved a more deadly leader and launched intermittent suicide attacks in major Pakistani cities with much greater frequency, audacity and ferocity. These attacks have suddenly subsided ever since reports of his precarious condition hit headlines last month. Sources said that Maulvi Noor Jamal has been nominated as Mehsud’s successor. Other contenders of the dreaded spot include Wali-ur-Rehman, Qari Mohammad Hussain and Molvi Toofan. Maulvi Noor Jamal is a native of the Orakzai Agency and rose to power as the leader of the Taliban in the Kurram tribal area. He was also given responsibilities for Orakzai when the military began the Waziristan offensive in October. Jamal is in his late thirties and was a maulana at a local madrassah before he was made the leader of the Taliban in Kurram. He had a close relationship with Mehsud and is known for his brutality. One resident who left Khurram for fear of being wanted by him said Jamal “...kills humans like one will kill chickens.” Jamal is also the man who is allegedly overseeing the flogging of two men and a teenage boy in a recently broadcast video.
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Lanka: Charges against Fonseka warranted arrest
Colombo, February 9 "The gravity of his offences will flow from the summary of evidence collected against the former general," senior cabinet minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters. The government's clarifications came as Fonseka's wife Anoma said her husband's whereabouts remained "unknown" and she feared for his safety, a day after he was hauled away from his office by military personnel. She accused the government of "abducting" her husband, and issued an appeal for help to trace his whereabouts, charging that the authorities had cut him off from even his family. Rambukwella said the Sri Lanka's lone four-star General may face court martial for plotting to overthrow President Mahinda Rajapaksa while still serving in the Army. "Fonseka may face a court martial even though he is not a serving officer," he said. Rambukwella said the question of Fonseka's participation in the forthcoming Parliamentary elections which are due in April would depend on the election laws of the country. He indicated that Fonseka would have to remain in detention till the questioning process was completed. The spokesman said that Fonseka had committed an offence of mixing with political leaders while being a member of the Security council of the country which was the highest body that deals with national security. He said Fonseka had been arrested under "Section 58 (1) of the army act. The military police last night arrested Sarath Fonseka and took him for questioning," he said, adding further investigation would be carried out to ascertain the charges. Meanwhile, the military spokesman Maj Gen Prasad Samarasinghe said Fonseka's family had been granted unhindered access to him and that full medical assistance as required has been offered to him. The military spokesman said all facilities befitting his senior rank has been given to
Fonseka, who was yet to decide on a lawyer to defend him. He said Fonseka's wife has sought access to her husband and the defence authorities are looking into it. — PTI
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Fake coupon scam mars relief effort
Port-au-Prince, February 9 An agitated crowd of around 100 people continued to wait well into the afternoon at the drop-off site close to the town hall in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petionville as others clamoured for tickets valid for today. "We need food!" one old lady shouted at a guard charged with manning the steel bars blocking the entrance to the town hall offices. Others simply pointed to their mouths and stomachs. UN World Food Programme spokesman David Orr said the suspension would affect around 10,000 survivors of the massive earthquake in January that killed over 2,12,000 people and left an estimated one million people homeless. The UN agency has set up 16 food distribution points across the city, handing out 25 kg sacks of rice designed to feed a family for two weeks. Orr said World Food Programme partners hoped to restart the distributions at the affected site today. — AFP
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Man pulled out alive from rubble
London: Nearly a month after being buried by Haiti's killer quake, a 28-year-old man has been pulled out alive from the wreckage of a building in Port-au-Prince.
Evan Muncie’s rescue comes more than two weeks after the government called off search-and-rescue efforts. He was found buried in the rubble of a marketplace, according the New Zealand Herald. Doctors said he was suffering from extreme dehydration and malnutrition but did not have any major injuries from being crushed. Dr Mike Connelly at the University of Miami field hospital said Muncie had been left “emaciated” by his ordeal. “He hadn't had anything in quite some time. He had open wounds that were festering on both his feet,” he said. Muncie told doctors that someone had brought him water while he was trapped, but his doctors said he sounded confused and sometimes seemed to believe he was still under the rubble. Dr Connelly said Muncie would not have survived for so long without water, but was not sure how he would have had access to it. — ANI
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Indian cabbie assaulted in UK
London, February 9 "The man asked me to stop and I had just told him how much the fare was when suddenly I felt a rope around my neck. He held the rope so tight I thought I was suffocating. Then the woman pulled out a knife and tried to stab me," Upadhyay, who feared for his life during the attack, said: "I thought I was going to die. It was really scary but I need this job as it is my bread and butter. I am worried about going out at night," he added. Upadhay had managed to free himself from the rope but the man then grabbed him, holding his head against the head rest while the woman began punching his head and face. He eventually slipped free of the man's grip and got out of the car. But he was again confronted and forced to hand over his wallet before he was able to run. When he returned to the scene, he said his taxi had disappeared. Upadhay said, "Taxi drivers were attacked too often and something needs to be done. I was lucky this time." — PTI
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Magician Gopinath to predict headlines John Murtha dead 
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Sri Lanka today claimed that charges against defeated opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka were "serious enough" to warrant his arrest, raising a question mark on his participation in the forthcoming Parliamentary elections.
