W O R L D

UNSC condemns Syrian crackdown on civilians
Lebanon disassociates itself from statement
United Nations, August 4
In its first substantive action on Syria’s five-month-old uprising, the UN Security Council today overcame deep divisions and condemned Damascus’ bloody crackdown on civilian protesters.

Lebanese Islamists shout slogans as they march during a protest in solidarity with Syria's anti- government protesters, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. — Reuters

Terror attack on Mehran airbase
3 top Pak naval officers face court martial
Islamabad, August 4
In an unprecedented move, three top Pakistani naval officers will face court martial for their alleged negligence during a terrorist attack on Mehran airbase in Karachi in May that left 10 security personnel dead and two US-made surveillance aircraft destroyed.

UNSC condemns Syrian crackdown on civilians
Lebanon disassociates itself from statement

United Nations, August 4
In its first substantive action on Syria’s five-month-old uprising, the UN Security Council today overcame deep divisions and condemned Damascus’ bloody crackdown on civilian protesters.

The only dissenter in the council was Lebanon, where Syrian influence is strong. Beirut disassociated itself from a formal statement, agreed by the other 14 members, that backers said helped to isolate the Syrian leadership.

The statement, read out to a council meeting by Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, this month’s president of the body, “condemns widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities.”

The document, agreed after three days of hard bargaining instead of a full council resolution that the West would have preferred, urged Damascus to fully respect human rights and comply with its obligations under international law. It called for “an immediate end to all violence and urges all sides to act with utmost restraint, and to refrain from reprisals, including attacks against state institutions.”

That phrase was a gesture to Russia and other countries that had called for a balanced statement that would apportion to blame to both sides for the violence in the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. Syria says it faces opposition by armed extremists.

Lebanese envoy Caroline Ziade told the council the Western-drafted statement “does not help in addressing the current situation in Syria.” Statements are meant to be unanimous, meaning Lebanon could have blocked it, but by simply disassociating itself Beirut allowed the statement to pass.

The statement was adopted as the White House hardened its stance against Assad. Spokesman Jay Carney said the Syrian leader was “the cause of instability” in the country. The bloodshed in Hama appeared to have broken the logjam in the council, diplomats said. The agreeing of the statement signaled limits to Russia’s backing for Damascus as the death toll in Syria passes 1,600, according to rights activists.

The statement contains no provision for sanctions or other punitive measures against Syria, nor does it call for a referral of Syrian leaders to the International Criminal Court, as some human rights groups have demanded.

The only future action provided for is a request to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report back to the council within seven days on the situation in Syria. It does not specify what follow-up there might be to his report. — Reuters

Assad allows opposition parties

Terror attack on Mehran airbase
3 top Pak naval officers face court martial

Islamabad, August 4
In an unprecedented move, three top Pakistani naval officers will face court martial for their alleged negligence during a terrorist attack on Mehran airbase in Karachi in May that left 10 security personnel dead and two US-made surveillance aircraft destroyed.

Commodore Raja Tahir, the former commander of PNS Mehran airbase, the naval aviation commander and the security officer of the airbase are to face trial in a court martial in connection with the May 22 attack, media reports said.

The navy’s internal inquiry into the attack, conducted by Rear Admiral Tehsinullah Khan, recommended the court martial of the three officers.

The proceedings will be conducted at the airbase by a five-member military court headed by an officer of the rank of commodore, media reports said.

The navy is set to take “punitive action” against some officials in the light of the recommendations of the Board of Inquiry ordered into the terrorist attack on PNS Mehran, a naval spokesman said.

“Some action will be taken in the light of recommendations of the Board of Inquiry,” he told the media.

If convicted, the officers could face censure, dishonourable discharge from the navy or even imprisonment, depending on the nature of charges proven against them.

The board of inquiry presented its recommendations to naval chief Admiral Noman Bashir, who authorised the court martial proceedings. News of the court martial proceedings has inculcated a “sense of fear” among the officer corps, with many officers fearing that they may be brought before the military court as well, The Express Tribune newspaper quoted its sources as saying.

“Other names” are likely to crop up during the hearings, the daily reported. Other reports said several other officers could face court martial too.

Javed Iqbal, a retired vice admiral, said the officers being prosecuted are too junior and that far too many senior officers, including admirals, were being let off the hook.

“The attack was a colossal intelligence failure that resulted in losses to the tunes of billions. But have any senior ranking officials in the intelligence agencies or the Pakistan Navy been investigated?” he asked. — PTI

US to provide Pak with 10 upgrade kits for F-16

Islamabad, August 4
The US Defence Department has awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, one of world’s biggest defence production firms, a $42.3 million contract to provide 10 additional upgrade kits for Pakistan’s F-16 aircrafts, a media report said today.

The contract has been awarded under the Foreign Military Sales programme, Pakistan’s state-run news agency Associated Press of Pakistan said. Lockheed Martin will provide upgradation kits for the Pakistan F-16 A/B Block 15 Aircraft Enhanced Modernisation Programme.

Meanwhile, the Express Tribune in a report said the package includes 18 panel “simuspheres”, logistic support up to 21 months of which 12 months on-site and nine months on-call support will be provided. — PTI

Obama uses 50th b’day bash for fund-raising

Chicago, August 4
US President Barack Obama has turned his 50th birthday celebration into a 2012 election campaign fund-raising drive after weeks of damaging debt showdown with Republicans.

Obama, who critics have accused of being weak during the recent debt battle, visited his hometown of Chicago on the eve of his birthday for a celebrity-studded bash and sought to recapture the energy of his last presidential campaign.

The president, who turned 50 today, on Tuesday signed a legislation to raise the nation’s debt limit by USD 2.4 trillion expected to cover debt payments through the end of 2012, while cutting federal deficits, and compromising with Republican demands in a bipartisan package.

Returning to the campaign trail after a month spent locked in debt talks, Obama used his appearances to defend his economic record. Obama said that the nation doesn’t have time to “play these partisan games.” “I hope we can avoid another self-inflicted wound like we saw over the last couple weeks,” Obama said of the recent debt-ceiling gridlock at the Aragon Entertainment Center.

Around 2,400 people who attended the fund-raising events paid at least $50 and wore cone-shaped birthday hats with the number ‘50’ and the campaign’s logo, the newspaper reported.

“It’s been a long, tough year. But we have made some incredible strides together. Yes, we have. But the thing we all have to remember is, as much good as we’ve done, precisely because the challenges were so daunting, precisely because we were inheriting so many challenges, that we’re not even halfway there yet,” he said.

Obama’s visit to his hometown was not only marked by cheer but also protests for his immigration policies on deportation against illegal immigrants.

The newspaper reported that across the street from the Aragon Entertainment Center, about four dozen people protested what they said are aggressive deportation policies against illegal immigrants. — PTI