W O R L D

Taliban target Nato troops
Five US soldiers, 12 civilians dead in Kabul; 47 hurt
Kabul, May 18
A suicide car bomber attacked Nato troops in the Afghan capital today, killing 18 persons, including five US soldiers and 12 local civilians in one of the deadliest strikes on Kabul in more than a year.

Times Square Scare
Faisal had other targets on radar
New York, May 18
Pakistan-origin American terror suspect Faisal Shahzad had planned to attack four other targets if his bid to detonate a car bomb near Times Square in New York was successful, according to a television channel.

Indian shot dead in Vancouver
Toronto, May 18
In a case of targeted killing, a 32-year-old Sikh businessman was gunned down outside his home in Vancouver by unidentified persons, the Canadian police said. A father of two, Chhminder Singh Gill, died minutes after he was hit by a flurry of shots on Sunday.

No talks until stir ends: Thai govt
Bangkok, May 18
Thailand’s government will only enter into talks brokered by the country’s Senate if anti-government protesters end their rally, a cabinet minister said today. “The situation has escalated and become violent with armed groups and terrorists attacking the government, officers in the field and civilians,” Satit Wongnongtoey said in a televised address.

Zardari grants pardon to Malik
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari pardoned his aide and Interior Minister Rehman Malik protecting him from inevitable arrest within hours the Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed Malik’s appeal against conviction for remaining absent from hearings in two corruption cases.

BBC jockey stirs row by announcing Queen’s death
London, May 18
A BBC radio jockey stirred a sensation over the airwaves in the UK by jokingly announcing that Queen Elizabeth II had died and then switched on the national anthem “God save the Queen”, forcing the organisation to tender an “unreserved apology”. Disc jockey Danny Kelly, 39, played the national anthem and told listeners that he had an important announcement to make and then said “Queen Elizabeth II has now died”. The announcement was made today over BBC WM, local radio service beamed to British city of Birmingham and West Midlands.

Queen Elizabeth II

6 Indians indicted in Vienna temple shooting
Vienna, May 18
Austrian authorities have indicted six Indians in connection with last year's shooting at a temple in Vienna. A Sikh preacher was killed and more than a dozen others were wounded, including a second Sikh cleric, in the incident. The rampage triggered riots in several cities in northern India.

Times Square: US rushes top officials to Pak
New York/Washington, May 18
The US has rushed two top security officials to Pakistan to press the government to intensify efforts to investigate the failed Times Square bomb plot and convey the risks to the country's relationship with the US if a terrorist attack originated there.

 

Taliban target Nato troops
Five US soldiers, 12 civilians dead in Kabul; 47 hurt

Kabul, May 18
A suicide car bomber attacked Nato troops in the Afghan capital today, killing 18 persons, including five US soldiers and 12 local civilians in one of the deadliest strikes on Kabul in more than a year.

A view of the site of a suicide car bomb in Kabul on Tuesday. — Reuters

The Taliban, which is leading a nearly nine-year insurgency against the government and its foreign backers, claimed responsibility for the blast, having pledged a new nationwide campaign of attacks.

The bomber detonated the car bomb during rush hour, unleashing blood and chaos on a clogged street near Parliament and on a nearby hospital run by foreigners, an army recruitment centre and the ministry of water and energy.

Interior ministry spokes-man Zemarai Bashary said 12 civilians were killed and 47 wounded. Most had been passing in a bus when the bomber blew up the car. Children and women were among the dead.

The Nato International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed one of its convoys had been attacked and said six international soldiers -- five of them from the United States -- were killed and several others wounded.

A burnt-out vehicle sat crumpled in the street and Afghan civilians, some covered in blood, were being evacuated from the site.

The militia are waging an increasingly deadly insurgency and attacks have increased over the past 12 months in the heavily guarded capital.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the "brutal terrorists" behind the attack.

"The President called the attack an act against all human and Islamic principles and deemed the perpetrators as brutal terrorists who, to achieve evil goals, grieved innocent Kabulis," his office said in a statement.

Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen "strongly" condemned the attack but said the alliance remained "committed to its mission to protect the Afghan people and to strengthen Afghanistan's ability to resist terrorism".

The bombing today was the first major attack in Kabul since February 26, when Taliban suicide bombers targeted guest-houses, killing 16 people, including Westerners and Indians, in one of the deadliest attacks on foreigners.

Zabihullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman, telephoned AFP from an undisclosed location to claim the responsibility.

"The attack, which was a suicide car bomb, was carried out by one of our mujahedeens", or holy warriors, he said. — AFP

Times Square Scare
Faisal had other targets on radar

New York, May 18
Pakistan-origin American terror suspect Faisal Shahzad had planned to attack four other targets if his bid to detonate a car bomb near Times Square in New York was successful, according to a television channel.

Chosen spots Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, World Financial Center & Connecticut HQs of Sikorsky

FOX 5 News quoted a source as saying that Shahzad, arrested by the FBI for the May 1 failed bombing, has told investigators that he intended to attack four other locations in the US -- Rockefeller Center, a Grand Central Terminal, the World Financial Center and the Connecticut headquarters of defence contractor Sikorsky.

Sikorsky manufactures helicopters for the US Military, including the Black Hawk. It has headquarters in Shelton and Bridgeport — the two cities where Shahzad has lived.

“They want to maximize the exposure of the attack,” security expert Michael Balboni, a former homeland security adviser for New York State, told FOX news. “So they want to pick things that are iconic that perhaps have a lot of people so they can increase the body count. Anything to make it as dramatic as possible.”

The source also said Shahzad’s connections in Pakistan had advised him to buy the fireworks, fertilizer and Pathfinder over a period of time so it wouldn't raise any suspicions. — PTI

Indian shot dead in Vancouver

Toronto, May 18
In a case of targeted killing, a 32-year-old Sikh businessman was gunned down outside his home in Vancouver by unidentified persons, the Canadian police said. A father of two, Chhminder Singh Gill, died minutes after he was hit by a flurry of shots on Sunday.

Court records show Gill was found guilty of a 1999 offence in Maple Ridge of "providing false or misleading information" and sentenced to pay a fine of $3,000 and restitution of $2,660, the local media reported.

“Investigators are in the process of developing a profile to see what business relationships he had, what personal dealings he had,” RCMP Cpl Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said.

The police has made no arrests and not named any suspects so far.

Neighbours told the police they heard someone cheering in a vehicle as it left the scene after the shooting.

“I lost count at five [shots]," an ear-witness said. — PTI

No talks until stir ends: Thai govt

Bangkok, May 18
Thailand’s government will only enter into talks brokered by the country’s Senate if anti-government protesters end their rally, a cabinet minister said today.

A protester walks away after setting a tyre on fire in Bankok on Tuesday. — Reuters

“The situation has escalated and become violent with armed groups and terrorists attacking the government, officers in the field and civilians,” Satit Wongnongtoey said in a televised address.

“The government says we can only negotiate when the protest ends,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Thai anti-government protesters agreed to enter talks brokered by lawmakers to end a crisis threatening to tear the country apart, but analysts doubt the negotiations would gain much ground or stop the violence.

The proposal failed to stop sporadic fighting on the outskirts of a commercial district occupied by protesters for six weeks as groups of demonstrators hurled petrol bombs and burned tyres at two checkpoints of soldiers armed with assault rifles.

“We have agreed to take a new round of talks proposed by the Senate because if we allow things to go on like this, we don’t know how many more lives will be lost,” Nattawut Saikua, one of the Red Shirt leaders, told a news conference.

Several thousand protestors remain in a barricaded encampment in Bangkok’s high-end shopping, hotel and diplomatic district, refusing to leave, though looking visibly worn down.

“Sure I want to go home but I want democracy first,” said Chamlat Ladlao, a protester in his 50s from central Lopburi province. “I’d rather stay here, be proud and die fighting than die in my village when I’m old.”

The violence had subsided considerably today after chaotic urban warfare in the streets of Bangkok since Thursday night, following the assassination of a major-general allied with the Red-shirted protesters.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed to disperse the mostly rural and urban poor Red Shirts who accuse his government of lacking a popular mandate and colluding with Thailand’s royalist elite to subvert democracy. — Reuters

Zardari grants pardon to Malik
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari pardoned his aide and Interior Minister Rehman Malik protecting him from inevitable arrest within hours the Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed Malik’s appeal against conviction for remaining absent from hearings in two corruption cases.

But Zardari’s action has triggered a fresh debate on widening gulf of mistrust between him and the superior judiciary. Malik had the option of going to the Supreme Court, get bail and then fight out the case, which many legal experts acknowledge has strong merit.

The Sindh High Court endorsed this point on Tuesday when it granted bail before arrest on Tuesday. Malik later told mediapersons that he fully respects all court judgments, no matter whether he is convicted or acquitted.

The presidential pardon ostensibly reflects continuing mistrust in the Presidency against the judiciary, which it views as hostile to Zardari. It, however, triggered a fresh controversy whether Malik can retain his Senate seat and high profile cabinet post or not. Legal opinion was divided on the issue.

The President has the authority to pardon a sentence but not conviction that entails disqualification to hold any public office,” Qazi Anwar, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said “The 18th Amendment has taken care of this eventuality that would allow Malik to retain both the Senate seat and thus cabinet post,” Justice Tariq Mahmood, former president of the SCBA said.

BBC jockey stirs row by announcing Queen’s death

London, May 18
A BBC radio jockey stirred a sensation over the airwaves in the UK by jokingly announcing that Queen Elizabeth II had died and then switched on the national anthem “God save the Queen”, forcing the organisation to tender an “unreserved apology”.

Disc jockey Danny Kelly, 39, played the national anthem and told listeners that he had an important announcement to make and then said “Queen Elizabeth II has now died”. The announcement was made today over BBC WM, local radio service beamed to British city of Birmingham and West Midlands.

A BBC spokesman later confirmed that “Danny Kelly had made an inappropriate remark about the Queen in his radio show”. The BBC said, “Although made as part of a light-hearted piece about social media friends, and corrected on-air immediately after it was made, the comment was entirely inappropriate and the BBC apologises unreservedly for it.”

“The comment was entirely inappropriate and the BBC apologises unreservedly for it. There was no intention to offend,” the spokesman said.

The BBC said it took the gaffe “very seriously” and action would be taken. BBC WM website describes Kelly as having “a unique brand of humour”. It said the joke had been a reference to an item on one of Kelly’s Internet pages. — PTI

6 Indians indicted in Vienna temple shooting

Vienna, May 18
Austrian authorities have indicted six Indians in connection with last year's shooting at a temple in Vienna. A Sikh preacher was killed and more than a dozen others were wounded, including a second Sikh cleric, in the incident. The rampage triggered riots in several cities in northern India.

According to prosecution spokesperson Thomas Vecsey, one of the men currently in pretrial custody has been indicted on charges of murder and two counts of attempted murder. The other five are accused of involvement in the murder and attempted intentional aggravated assault. — AP

Times Square: US rushes top officials to Pak

New York/Washington, May 18
The US has rushed two top security officials to Pakistan to press the government to intensify efforts to investigate the failed Times Square bomb plot and convey the risks to the country's relationship with the US if a terrorist attack originated there.

National security adviser James L Jones and CIA chief Leon E Panetta are likely to land in Pakistan today, in the highest-level American visit to Pakistan since the May 1 failed bombing.

Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, 30, has been arrested by the federal authorities on charges of plotting the bomb at the Times Square on May 1. The US has said the investigations implicate the Pakistani Taliban in the attack.

General Jones "will not threaten the Pakistanis, but convey the risks to the country's relationship with the United States, if a deadly terrorist attack originated there", a senior Obama administration official was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had also warned Pakistan of "serious consequences" if a terrorist attack originated there.

Jones plans to prod them to take tougher steps against the Taliban and other insurgent groups, the official noted.

Panetta and Jones will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani and ISI chief Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha during their visit.

At least, three Pakistani nationals have also been arrested in the US on charges of providing finances to Shahzad, though it is yet to be known whether they knew where the money was being used.

The Pakistani authorities too have made several arrests in Karachi and other parts of the country in connection with the Times Square plot.

The paper said the delegation may push Islamabad to get into North Waziristan — stronghold of the Pakistan Taliban — where Shahzad also claims to have trained. So far, the Pakistani army has not entered the dangerous border region but has been preoccupied in South Waziristan and Swat. — PTI