Sri Lanka, April 17
The authorities in Sri Lanka are under mounting pressure to agree to an independent inquiry into a military operation against Tamil rebels after a UN panel found “credible allegations” that the government committed war crimes and offences against humanity.

A leaked report by a team established by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, suggests government troops systematically shelled civilians, it had encouraged to gather in so-called “no-fire zones” at hospitals, at the UN’s hub, and even close to an area where aid workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were coming to collect wounded people from the beach. It says the government allowed this even though it knew from its own intelligence the impact of the repeated bombardment.

The panel, which calls for an independent international inquiry, concludes that “tens of thousands” of civilians lost their lives, and that most casualties in the final phases of the war were caused by government shelling. It says the government sought to intimidate and silence the media and its critics, and even resorted to abduction, using “white vans” to make people disappear.

The report says there is evidence that the Tamil rebels also committed war crimes and that they used civilians as human shields, shot dead those who tried to flee the war zone, and forcibly recruited teenagers to become fighters.

The damning report, parts of which have been leaked to media in Sri Lanka, is likely to be the most comprehensive insight yet into the bloody final stages of the 2009 offensive that crushed the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, known as the Tamil Tigers) and brought an end to a decades-long civil war that had taken more than 70,000 lives. At the time, there was widespread international criticism of the way the government had failed to protect Tamil civilians caught in the war zone. But the authorities dismissed this and President Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-elected the following year on the back of his victory over the rebels.

The UN has yet to make public the report or comment on the recommendations of the three-member panel. However, Gordon Weiss, a former spokesman for the UN in Sri Lanka who served in the capital, Colombo, during the offensive against the LTTE, said the report “damns the government of Sri Lanka’s so-called war on terror, which incidentally killed many thousands of civilians. The Tamil Tigers were equally rotten in their disdain for life.”

The Sri Lankan Government has dismissed the findings. “The government finds this report fundamentally flawed in many respects,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement. “Among other deficiencies, the report is based on patently biased material, which is presented without any verification. The government will, in due course, comment in detail on the contents of the report.”

The UN panel was established last year by the Secretary General after failing to persuade Rajapaksa to order an independent inquiry into what may have taken place. At the time, the Sri Lankan authorities described the panel's formation as “an unwarranted and unnecessary interference with a sovereign nation”. It said it would provide visas for the panel members to visit Sri Lanka only if they were attending the government's own “inquiry” - the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, which human rights groups and, indeed, the UN panel said lacks credibility. (By arrangement with The Independent) 

New York, April 17
Tornadoes kicked by powerful storms have ripped across six south-eastern US states, killing 44 people as rescue workers search for survivors amid fears that death toll could rise.

The storm, which first hit on Thursday, has made its way through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina. It has reportedly caused more than 200 tornadoes including 62 in North Carolina yesterday. Tornadoes “ripped across the Southeast killing as many as 44 people over the past three days”, CNN reported quoting National Weather Service and reports from several states.

There were 14 deaths in Bertie County, North Carolina, a rural area in the northeast part of the state, the weather service said today. Although the weather service reported that number, local authorities said they were still working to determine the exact number of deaths. “Reports are still incoming,” Mike Sprayberry, deputy director of the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, told CNN.

The death toll across seven states includes 23 total in North Carolina; four in Virginia; seven in Alabama, two in Olkahoma, seven in Arkansas and one in Mississippi. The deaths in North Carolina included three people in Raleigh who were killed in mobile homes, the weather service said. In eastern North Carolina, two people died near Ammon, one was killed in the Bladenboro area and another died in the Benson and Black Creek area, the weather service said. North Carolina state Rep. Mike Stone reported two additional deaths in Lee County. “This doesn’t happen very often in this part of the country. They generally tend to be smaller, weaker tornadoes, not these big monster supercells,” said CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. — PTI 

Tokyo, April 17
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Japan on Sunday to remain active on the world stage and pledged support for Washington's key ally in East Asia as the operator of a stricken nuclear plant finally set out a timeline to shut it down.

“Economically, diplomatically and in so many other ways, Japan is indispensable to global problem-solving," Clinton told a news conference after talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto. "And the US-Japan alliance is as indispensable as ever to global security and progress."

Clinton also said Japan and the United States had agreed to create a "public-private partnership for reconstruction" under the guidance of Japan's government, and that U.S. firms and organisations would begin discussing how they can support Japan as it comes through the crisis. — Reuters

Sanaa, April 17
The Yemeni opposition was seeking details from Gulf foreign ministers who were meeting today in Riyadh on a plan for President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure, an opposition leader said.

“We will meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council ministers in Riyadh to ask for clarification on their initiative, especially on the departure of President Saleh,” Yassin Saeed Noman, head of the opposition Common Forum said.

Saleh has since January faced protests calling for his departure, in which more than 125 people have been killed. An opposition delegation — led by Mohammed Salem Bassandawa, a former foreign minister, and also including Abdelwahab al-Ansi of the Islamist Al-Islah party — was to travel to Riyadh later today, Noman said.

The Common Forum has made Saleh's departure a prerequisite for any political settlement, while the GCC’s bid to resolve the crisis calls for him to hand over power to his vice president. Saleh's office has said in response to the mediation bid of the six-nation GCC he has “no reservation about transferring power peacefully and smoothly within the framework of the constitution.” — AFP

Fourteen people allegedly involved in the gunning down of 52 anti-regime protesters in Sanaa last month have been referred to Yemen's state prosecutor, the Interior Ministry said today. “The Interior Ministry has handed 14 people accused to the public prosecution over the tragic incidents” of March 18 near Sanaa University when “several protesters were martyred or wounded”, said a ministry spokesperson. — AFP 

BRIEFLY

Asteroid whizzes past Earth
LONDON: An asteroid as powerful as 15 atomic bombs has whizzed past the Earth from a distance 10 times that of the moon. Astronomers first spotted the cigar-shaped asteroid, identified as GP59, spinning through space a week ago and tracked its movement, the Daily Mail reported. The 50-metre-long rock that could have destroyed a small country, however, went barely noticed as it passed the Earth at a distance of some 2,085,321 miles, said the report. — PTI

Nicolas Cage held for domestic abuse
NEW YORK: Actor Nicolas Cage was taken into custody after allegations of domestic violence in New Orleans. A New Orleans police official said the 47-year-old was drunk and disturbing the peace after an argument with wife, Alice Kim, reports people.com. “Cage and his wife were standing in front of a residence that he insisted was the property the couple was renting. She disagreed, and Cage grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her to what he believed was the correct address. There were no visible signs of injury on his wife's arm,” the police said. — IANS

Oil spills into sea as tankers crash
Beijing: Two oil tankers crashed today off China's southern coast, spilling about two tonnes of light diesel fuel into the sea, said authorities. No casualties were reported when the oil tankers, Guochang and Jiangzhou No. 1, rammed into each other face-on at about 8 am on the sea close to Macao's airport, said the Zhuhai maritime authorities. The hull of Guochang was left with a cleft from where the diesel flowed until it was plugged by rescuers by 10 am. — PTI

Beatles’ piano auctioned
London : The piano which Beatles legend Paul McCartney used to write the classic 'Yesterday' has gone under the hammer for $ 2,40,000. The 1926 Art Deco green miniature piano was used by the 68-year-old musician to compose the melody at singer Alma Cogan's house in 1964, reported Contactmusic. 'Yesterday' is the most covered song in the history of recorded music. McCartney had once famously told how he heard a tune in his dream and hurried to the piano to avoid forgetting it. A number of stars, including Sammy Davis Jr, Michael Caine, Mick Jagger and John Lennon, also played the instrument while at Cogan's London home. The Eavestaff piano was auctioned by Cogan's sister last Friday, and was bought by an anonymous bidder, who is an overseas private collector. — PTI