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US slams Koran-torching plan, but pastor defiant
US to look to India for changes in nuke Bill
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UK envoy to Af-Pak quits
Ex-Gitmo detainee with Kashmir link held in Yemen
Salahi’s White House sari to be auctioned
Toddler was alive when he was dumped: Kaur
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US slams Koran-torching plan, but pastor defiant
Gainesville (US), September 8 The leader of the little known church found himself in the eye of a rapidly swirling storm today with several Muslim and world leaders deploring his plans as fanning flames of intolerance. Clinton was the most senior US official to speak out against the burning scheduled for the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, saying she was "heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths." The White House added its voice to the warnings that the move could trigger outrage around the Islamic world and endanger the lives of US soldiers. "It puts our troops in harm's way. And obviously any type of activity like that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said yesterday. He was reiterating comments by top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, who warned that burning the holy book of Islam would provide propaganda for insurgents. “It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," said Petraeus of the plan, adding that it could cause significant problems “everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community”. But a small church, the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, has vowed to mark Saturday's ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks by burning copies of the Koran as they remember the almost 3,000 people killed by Al-Qaida hijackers. “We are taking his concerns very seriously,” pastor Terry Jones told CNN late yesterday, referring to Petraeus, but "we right now have plans to continue." Although the fire authorities turned down an application a few weeks ago from Jones to hold the open-air burning ceremony, the police cannot intervene until they actually light the 200 copies of the Koran. Jones said the Koran torching aimed "to remember those who were brutally murdered on September 11," and to send a warning "to the radical element of Islam." The voices of criticism grew into a chorus today.
— AFP
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US to look to India for changes in nuke Bill
Washington, September 8 “We continue our discussions with the Indian government on this issue and we note that Indian business leaders are concerned about some specific aspects of the law that was just passed by Parliament,” State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said in the first reaction by the Obama administration to some controversial provisions in the Bill. “We will look to the Indian government to see what changes can be made,” Crowley told reporters in response to a question on the US business being reportedly unhappy on some aspects of the liability law. The liability legislation was a vital step to clear the decks for the full implementation of the historic Indo-US civil nuclear deal. On August 30, Parliament had adopted the Nuclear Liability Bill with the government insisting that the compensation package for victims matches that of the US and it was still open to accommodate some suggestions. A US South Asia expert has recently suggested that Parliament had passed a flawed civil nuclear liability law, warning that it could cast a pall over the Indo-US nuke deal. “The US policymakers and industrial leaders were taken off guard over the passage of the legislation despite retaining language inconsistent with international standards for engaging in nuclear commerce,” according to Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow for South Asia at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank. The law includes language that makes suppliers of equipment, raw materials and services liable after the construction of a plant during any nuclear accident.
— PTI
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UK envoy to Af-Pak quits
London, September 8 Sherard had temporarily stepped down in June but the Foreign Office had said he would return later this year. In a statement today, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sherard had made an invaluable contribution to the UK policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said Karen Pierce, the Foreign Office's South Asia and Afghanistan director, would take over as special representative. “Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to be this government's top priority in foreign affairs,” Hague said. Sherard was appointed to the role in February 2009 by the previous Labour government after serving as ambassador to Kabul for two years. British media had recently reported that there were serious disagreements in recent months between Sherard and officials from NATO, which is leading international troops in the country.
— PTI
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Ex-Gitmo detainee with Kashmir link held in Yemen
Washington, September 8 The Fox News in an exclusive news reported that the individual arrested in Yemen has been identified as Jabir Jurban Al Fayafi. According to Defence Department documents, he was detainee number 188 at the Navy detention camps, it said. Fayfi was transferred from the Guantanamo Bay facility to Saudi Arabia in 2006 after what one official described as a lengthy review; the news channel reported. "At the time, Fayfi was considered 'low risk' and part of a series of test cases to assess whether the rehabilitation program in Saudi Arabia worked," it said. According to an unclassified US government report, Fayafi fought in Kashmir for about four months, after which he moved to Afghanistan. It is likely that Fayfi's time in Kashmir was sponsored by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), a known Al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group based in Pakistan, the Long War Journal reported.
— PTI
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Salahi’s White House sari to be auctioned
Washington, September 8 The live auction of the sari, which became an item of accidental White House history and public fascination following the gate-crashing episode in November last year, will be attended by the Salahi couple — Michaele an Tareq — on October 2. It will coincide with the episode of the Bravo television network's 'The Real Housewives of DC' that will feature the excitement and controversy caused by the Salahis' attendance at the White House dinner for Prime Minister Singh.
— PTI
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Toddler was alive when he was dumped: Kaur
Melbourne, September 8 Dhillon, who drove with Gurshan for three-hours in his car boot on March 4 before dumping him, told his 24-year-old wife Simarjeet Kaur that the kid was still alive but not moving. The next day Dhillon said the baby was still alive when he put him in the boot because he saw his eyes blinking. “He said he was still alive when he put him in the grass because he saw his eyes moving, but his body wasn't moving,” Kaur said in her statement, The Age reported today. Dhillon pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday to one count of manslaughter by criminal negligence. “He said he thought he should take him to hospital, but felt insecure about the questions he would be asked. He thought if he left the baby alive and someone else found him and took him to hospital, it would be better,” Kaur said. “But when City West Water contractor Leigh Fullarton found Gurshan, it was too late for him to be saved.”
— PTI
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