W O R L D

Top cop says police, not MPs, restored order
London, August 12
As the death toll from violent riots in England rose to five, a top British police officer has slammed political leaders for finding fault with the cops' handling of the unrest.

British PM David Cameron (back to camera) with a group of young people, who are taking part in a "Not In Our Name" event, in London on Friday. The London riots have thrown youth into the spotlight and the event is expected to give the city's young people a chance to talk about what has happened. — AP/PTI

It was shopping spree, say London looters
London, August 12
As commentators debate at length over the reasons behind the unrest, four teenagers who looted goods from various shops during the days and nights of mayhem in London today audaciously called it a “shopping spree”.

Burney takes up Sarabjit’s case with Pakistan PM
Islamabad, August 12
Pakistani rights activist Ansar Burney today appealed to Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani to immediately halt executions of death row prisoners, including Indian national Sarabjit Singh, and convert all death sentences to life imprisonment. Burney said he had taken up the matter with Gilani when he met him at a private function here yesterday.
Sarabjit Singh

China launches communications satellite for Pak
Beijing, August 12
China today launched a communications satellite for Pakistan, as the two all-weather allies opened a “new platform” in space collaboration to further cement their strategic relationship.

 

 

UK Riots
Top cop says police, not MPs, restored order
UK Govt summons officials of Twitter, Facebook and makers of the BlackBerry, to discuss their responsibilities to prevent such incidents in future

London, August 12
As the death toll from violent riots in England rose to five, a top British police officer has slammed political leaders for finding fault with the cops' handling of the unrest while authorities summoned officials of two social networking sites and makers of BlackBerry to discuss their roles in preventing future outbreaks.

More than 1,700 people have been arrested across England for their alleged role in one of the worst riots in decades. Nearly 600 of them have been charged with violence, disorder and looting.

Sir Hugh Orde, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said it was the police, not MPs, who had restored order.

"The fact that politicians chose to come back (from holiday as Parliament was recalled) is an irrelevance in terms of the tactics that were by then developing," he told BBC last evening.

His remarks followed Prime Minister David Cameron's address to the emergency session of Parliament yesterday during which he said the police tactics had been inadequate when the rioting started in the north London area of Tottenham on Saturday following the killing of 29-year-old Mark Duggan.

Acting Met Police Commissioner Tim Godwin also denied that police were too "timid" in their initial response to the riots and said decisions about tactics and numbers were "all police decisions".

He said that "if police officers had the benefit of hindsight as foresight we would obviously do things slightly differently", adding that: "We always learn from what occurs." Observing that "free flow of information" can sometimes be a problem, the government has summoned Twitter and Facebook as well as Research In Motion, makers of the BlackBerry.

Cameron told reporters that Home Secretary May would hold meetings with Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion to discuss their responsibilities to prevent such incidents in future.

"Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organised via social media," Cameron said in Parliament yesterday. "Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence, we need to stop them." — PTI

It was shopping spree, say London looters

London, August 12
As commentators debate at length over the reasons behind the unrest, four teenagers who looted goods from various shops during the days and nights of mayhem in London today audaciously called it a “shopping spree”.

Sky News spoke to four teenagers who covered their faces while speaking on camera, and admitted to looting electronic and other goods from shops. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the teenagers aged 16 or 17 said their chances of not being arrested were ‘pretty good’. They were shown speaking before cameras on the bank of the Thames in London.

They said they stole iPads, Blackberry tablets, games consoles, laptops, clothes, trainers and even nappies and clothes for their children.

They admitted looting in Lewisham, Catford, Bromley and Clapham.

They claim they used a transit van to move between different boroughs and grabbed so many different items that the van was filled several times over and emptied between their sprees, Sky News reported.

They said they were not part of an organised gang but just disillusioned teenagers who cannot find work. They said inequality in British society was part of the problem.

One of them said he stopped in Clapham Junction solely to target a store where he had been refused work.

He said: “It was Comet. They didn’t reply to me emailing my CV, or going up there so this was payback man, payback.”

Another teenager said: “Everything we wanted we could get. I couldn’t believe the van could hold so much stuff.” They said they hoarded the looted goods at the homes of friends and said they had already sold them on the black market. One of them said he got £400 for a Blackberry tablet on the Gumtree website. — PTI 

Olympics ambassador held for rioting

London: Teenager Chelsea Ives, who is a London 2012 Olympics ambassador, is one of the over 1,500 people arrested for her alleged involvement in the days of mayhem on the streets of London and other cities in England. Ives is currently facing charges of throwing bricks at the police in Enfield, London, on Sunday.

She is being tried in the Westminster Magistrates Court, where magistrates are working overtime to hand out speedy justice to those arrested for the riots. Ives was caught when her mother, Adrienne, saw her on a television news report and called the police. — PTI

Burney takes up Sarabjit’s case with Pakistan PM

Islamabad, August 12
Pakistani rights activist Ansar Burney today appealed to Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani to immediately halt executions of death row prisoners, including Indian national Sarabjit Singh, and convert all death sentences to life imprisonment. Burney said he had taken up the matter with Gilani when he met him at a private function here yesterday.

He contended that 60 to 65 per cent of death row prisoners in Pakistan were innocent or victims of a faulty justice system. “Gilani has so far failed to deliver on his promises to help condemned prisoners,” Burney said.

He said he had requested the Prime Minister to announce the conversion of all death sentences to life imprisonment in his upcoming speech to the nation on Pakistan’s Independence Day. — PTI

China launches communications satellite for Pak

Beijing, August 12
China today launched a communications satellite for Pakistan, as the two all-weather allies opened a “new platform” in space collaboration to further cement their strategic relationship.

The successful launch of PAKSAT-1R from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China’s Sichuan Province was witnessed by a high power Pakistan delegation, which included Defence Secretary Gen Syed Ather Ali (retd) and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir.

The satellite, built and financed by China, will provide a range of services, including broadband Internet, telecom and broadcasting, besides defence applications.

The satellite will be deployed at 380E in the geostationary orbit and it will replace the existing satellite PAKSAT-1. It will be operated from Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) Ground Stations in Lahore and Karachi, APP news agency reported.

PAKSAT-1R has a design life of 15 years and will provide TV broadcasting, Internet and data communication services across South and Central Asia, Eastern Europe, East Africa and the Far East. This satellite now enables extending of communication services to all areas of Pakistan.

The satellite is China’s first in-orbit delivery to Asian customers and also the first commercial satellite export to international users this year, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Besides Bashir, those present at the launch centre included Director-General Strategic Plan Division, Gen Khalid Ahmed Kidwai (retd), Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khan and Chairman of SUPARCO Major General Ahmed Bilal.

The contract for the PAKSAT-1R was signed in 2008 between China Great Wall Industry Corporation and the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission of Pakistan.

Pakistan’s first low-orbit satellite, BADR-A, was launched by China in 1990 with Long March 2E rocket.

Thanking China for the help, Bashir said: “The successful launch is yet another shining illustration of the time-tested friendship between Pakistan and China and has ushered in a new era of cooperation in space technology between the two countries”. “This also marks the next step in taking forward Pakistan’s space Programme 2040”, Bashir said.

Masood Khan said PakSat-1R’s launch is important for his country for many reasons. “It is a symbol of Pakistan-China cooperation in the area of space technology. It is the first of the kind to be launched by China and Pakistan. Therefore it establishes a new platform, and marks a new beginning,” he said. — PTI

Space Collaboration PAKSAT-1R, built and financed by China, has a design life of 15 years and will provide TV broadcasting, Internet and data communication services across South and Central Asia, Eastern Europe, East Africa and the Far East. This satellite now enables extending of communication services to all areas of Pakistan Pakistan's first low-orbit satellite, BADR-A, was launched by China in 1990 with Long March 2E rocket.