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NY bomb suspect’s kin held in Pak
Photo facilitated arrest
Indian-origin Labour candidate
rips apart Brown
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Strike: Indians rescued in Nepal
Maoists lay siege to Kathmandu
India lifts ban on travel to Iraq
Volcanic ash grounds flights in Ireland
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NY bomb suspect’s kin held in Pak New York/Islamabad, May 4 Shahzad, 30, was arrested late last night after he was taken off an Emirates airline plane that was about to take off for Dubai. Hours later, several relatives and a friend were arrested in Pakistan. Pakistan vowed to help the US investigation. “We have picked up a few family members” related to Shahzad, a security official in Karachi said. A friend of Shahzad was also detained. Shahzad was due to appear in federal court later today to face charges of “driving a explosive-laden car into Times Square on the evening of May 1,” officials said. Had the bomb detonated, many people could have died, experts said. “He's admitted to buying the truck, putting the devices together, putting them in the truck, leaving the truck there and leaving the scene,” the source told Reuters. “He’s claimed to have acted alone. He did admit to all the charges, so to speak,” the source said, adding that investigators were still looking into his activities during a recent trip to Pakistan. Shahzad and two others were arrested on board the plane after it had pulled away from the gate and was recalled, but the other two were cleared and allowed to travel, the Emirates airline said. — Reuters
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New York, May 4 Authorities probing the plot also did not have to struggle much to catch Shahzad as they had his recent photograph from his immigration papers. Shahzad, 30, was arrested at JFK International Airport in New York last night as he prepared to flee the country by boarding a flight to Dubai. Shahzad became a US citizen on April 17, 2009, which aided investigators in the case, CNN quoted a federal law enforcement source as saying. "Because of his recent change in residency status, authorities had his picture and were able to show it to the seller of the vehicle (SUV), who identified Shahzad as the purchaser," it said. An FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force had taken over the investigation yesterday. The SUV used in the botched bombing plot, a Nissan Pathfinder had its vehicle identification number (VIN) removed from the dashboard. The police climbed under the SUV and retrieved VIN from the bottom of its engine block. This, said the official, led investigators to the registered owner of the vehicle and then to Shahzad who purchased the SUV. The Nissan Pathfinder had been sold three weeks ago in a cash deal with no paperwork exchanged, the report said. The $1,800 deal was closed at a Connecticut shopping mall, where the buyer handed over the money and drove off, the report said. A federal law enforcement official told CNN that the information gained from the vehicle's sale was the lynchpin in the case. The report also said that Shahzad nearly made it out of the country. "They just caught him at the last second," it quoted a source who said Shahzad was on board a flight to Dubai and the jetway had been pulled back when the plane was called to return to the gate. Shahzad is now believed to be the person who drove the sports utility vehicle used in the attempted bombing of Times Square, a law enforcement official said. Shahzad claimed to have acted alone in the attempted bombing, said another law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation. — PTI
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Indian-origin Labour candidate
rips apart Brown
London, May 4 He insisted that his comments that Brown’s policies were a “total disaster” reflected the opinion of many within the party, but the Labour denied this and called him a “dreadful candidate”. “The loss of social values is the basic problem and this is not what the Labour Party is about. I believe Gordon Brown has been the worst Prime Minister we have had in this country. It is a disgrace and he owes an apology to the people and the Queen,” he said. He said: “Immigration has gone up which is creating friction within communities. The country is getting bigger and messier. The role of ministers has gone bureaucratic and the action of ministers has gone downhill - it is corrupt”. Standing by comments, Sood said: “Obviously this is a very serious matter because at the end of the day we have a Prime Minister standing so close to the general election and things are going totally wrong. It’s a real disaster for the cities, the country and the nation.” “Look at the policies that he’s got - increasing National Insurance contributions very, very close to the General Election. Petrol prices are going up very, very close to the General Election. All policies he’s bringing in are a total disaster.” Sood is the son of Manjula Sood, who was Britain’s first Asian-origin Lord Mayor in Leicester. The family has strong ties with the Labour party. Sood, who said before the election that his seat was unwinnable for Labour, said he wanted Britain to return to how it was in the 1970s, and promised to control religious education and institutions, regenerate farming and industry and give more powers to the police and teachers. “We need to clean the whole party up A to Z, and it’s as simple as that. Once we do that, things will get better. We really have to come down hard on the Labour Party, on the Labour government; and the PM really does need to wake up and see that this is a problem.” Sood, however, praised Brown for lowering the interest rates for mortgage owners. Meanwhile, the ruling party has distanced itself from Sood’s remarks. His mother also criticised him. “I disapprove of what he said. Look at the improvement in the National Health Service and the minimum wage. My son holds his own views but I’m very angry about this and very angry with him. I’m campaigning every night and I’m very proud of that,” she said. David Colls, chairman of North West Norfolk constituency Labour Party dismissed him as a “dreadful candidate” and distanced the party from his “bizarre” comments.
— PTI
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Maoists lay siege to Kathmandu
Kathmandu, May 4 Most parts of the country were paralysed as the former rebels enforced the third day of a general strike to force the resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal in a bid to form a new coalition led by the Maoists. Tens of thousands of Maoists formed a human chain to lay siege to the capital. The agitation shut down most transport, schools, and businesses, grinding daily business down to a standstill as Maoists cadres staged mass rallies and threatened anyone who defied the anti-government campaign. Amid the crippling strike, there has been growing fears of a diarrhoea and dysentery epidemic spreading in the capital. Sources said over 400 Maoist cadres, who came here earlier this week to participate in the agitation, had fallen ill due to consumption of polluted water and unhygienic food. The government started evacuating scores of tourists, mainly foreigners, stranded by the strike out of the capital. “We have been organising a shuttle-bus service for tourists to evacuate those who want to leave the country,” an official said. “Many have already left. The protesters have not targeted tourists or vehicles carrying tourists.The government is also working on a plan to transport Nepalese who need to immediately return to their villages,” officials said. — PTI
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Strike: Indians rescued in Nepal
Over 400 Indian citizens, who were stranded in Pokhara, one of the major tourist destinations in western Nepal, due to ongoing nationwide general strike called by the Maoists have been rescued by the local administration.
According to Shambhu Koirala, Chief District Officer of Kaski district, the police has rescued over 400 Indian tourists among others from Pokhara and ferried safely to the Sunauli, one of the main exist point to Indian city of Gorakhpur. Talking to The Tribune Koirala said, “When we came to know about the stranded tourists at 4 am on Tuesday because of the indefinite strike, we managed to ferry them to their destination through Sunauli transit point in coordination with the local administrations and police offices on the highway.”
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India lifts ban on travel to Iraq
New Delhi, May 4 “The Centre has decided in order to facilitate travel by Indian nationals to Iraq on work or for visits, not to extend the ban on the grant of emigration clearance, which had been issued under Section 31(1) of the Emigration Act, 1983,” the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said in a statement. “At the same time, Indian nationals are advised to exercise due care and caution about their personal safety when working in or visiting Iraq,” it added. India had warned its citizens not to travel to the Gulf country months after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
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Volcanic ash grounds flights in Ireland
London/Dublin, May 4 The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) banned all takeoffs and landings from the Irish airports from 0600 GMT to 1200 GMT. The IAA said the bans were based on information by the Volcanic Ash Advice Centre. The Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said airspace would be closed over Northern Ireland. A no-fly zone over Scotland's Outer Hebrides was also imposed. Flight schedules in mainland Europe remain unaffected, the aviation authorities said. Transatlantic flights to the US are not affected. The disruption in service comes only weeks after the volcano's eruption caused the closure of airspace across Europe. IAA chief Eamon Brennan said he was optimistic that the cloud would dissipate soon. Ash from the volcano at Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier caused a shutdown of European airspace for six days last month, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers and leading to billions of losses for airlines and industries. — DPA
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Probe needed to verify US warhead claims: Iran Italy fines
burqa-clad woman Qureshi backs India on water Beggars make $1,500 a month! 
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Manish Sood, 38, who is the Labour candidate in North-west Norfolk, came down heavily on Brown on several fronts, including immigration, in comments made to a local newspaper.
