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Political crisis hits Nepal again
Syrian troops storm port city; 2 dead
Libyan rebels claim capture
of gateway to Tripoli
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Over 700 charged with rioting in UK
Fai case referred to grand jury
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Political crisis hits Nepal again
Kathmandu, August 13 The talks failed to make any headway after the main opposition Nepali Congress walked out of the meeting, asking Khanal to include the Terai-based Madhesi parties, the fourth largest group in Parliament, in the dialogue for a national coalition. The Prime Minister, who earlier this month had promised to step down, was neither ready to quit the post nor prepared to include the Madhesi parties in the dialogue, said Ramchandra Poudyal, the vice-president of the Nepali Congress party. CPN-UML leader Khanal, who was elected the PM on February 3 after 17 rounds of polls in Parliament, had said that he would resign if the major works related to the peace process were not completed by August 13. We have been asking the Prime Minister to resign as he has failed to move forward the peace process and make tangible progress in drafting the new constitution, he said, after the meeting of the three main political parties - the CPN-UML, UCPN-Maoist and the Nepali Congress. During the meeting, Khanal is learnt to have told other leaders that his resignation without a consensus on a new government would result in a constitutional crisis as the extended term of the Constituent Assembly is set to expire in August end. The Nepali Congress, the second largest party in Parliament, has been disrupting the proceedings of Parliament for more than a week, demanding Khanal's resignation in order to implement a five-point deal he had signed with the UCP-Maoist and the Nepali Congress while extending the term of the 601-member Assembly on May 28 by three months. The pact includes concluding the 2006 peace process, expediting constitution writing process, integration of the Maoists' combatants with the security forces and resignation of the Prime Minister to pave way for a national government. Poudyal hoped that Khanal might step down later today as there was no other alternative to resolve the crisis. During the talks, the Maoist leaders ruled out the possibility of integrating the former combatants within the deadline given by the Prime Minister, he said. The Maoist party and the Nepali Congress have claimed the right to lead a national government. The Maoists have projected Vice Chairman Baburam Bhattarai as the next prime ministerial candidate. The Assembly, formed in 2008 after a popular election, has failed to fulfill its main function to draft a new constitution though its term was extended twice, the latest on May 29 which is set expire in end of August.
— PTI
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Syrian troops storm port city; 2 dead Damascus, August 13 The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two people were killed and 15 wounded, four of them critically, during a military operation in the southern Latakia area of Ramleh, a nerve centre of anti-regime protests. "Phone lines and Internet were cut," said the Observatory. The watchdog said earlier that military vehicles, including tanks and armoured personnel carriers, converged on Ramleh during a "large demonstration calling for the fall of (President Bashar al-) Assad's regime. The Observatory said the arrival of troops sparked the exodus of a large number of residents, especially women and children. Security forces raided the Asaliba district, also in the Mediterranean city, arresting "more than 70 people" in a door-to-door crackdown, it said, adding that women who resisted the arrest of their children were harassed and beaten. "There was heavy gunfire and explosions," in Asaliba, the Observatory said. An activist in the central region of Homs said troops backed by two tanks also entered the village of Jussiyeh which borders Lebanon, triggering a stampede across the frontier and to neighbouring areas. Military vehicles, meanwhile, swooped on the town of Qusayr, also in Homs province, where security and intelligence services carried out arrests. "No one was spared. Not even women or children," said the Observatory. "Ten military trucks, seven security vehicles and 15 buses full of pro-regime militiamen entered these villages." Security forces backed by tanks have been trying to crush dissent city by city and town by town since pro-democracy protests erupted in mid-March.
— AFP
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Libyan rebels claim capture of gateway to Tripoli Wadi El-Hai, August 13 The town of Gharyan lies at the northern end of the Nafusa Mountains, and Gaddafi’s hold on the town had been a sticking point for rebels who have taken control of most of the range. The town lies on the main road leading directly from Nafusa to Tripoli. Rebels have been trying for weeks to take Gharyan, and NATO air-strikes have hit Gaddafi’s forces several times in the area. The capture solidifies the rebels’ flank as they push ahead with a new offensive launched from further west in the Nafusa range, pushing down into the coastal plain where Gaddafi’s forces have been concentrated.
— AP
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Over 700 charged with rioting in UK London, August 13 Home Secretary Theresa May said that authorities in no case would take chances and that 16,000 police officers would remain deployed in London and other cities to keep vigil over the weekend. “We will be maintaining the numbers for a period of time,” May said, asserting that though there had been quieter nights, “We can’t afford to be complacent.” London police announced that more than 1,700 arrests have been carried out of which 700 have been charged with the courts working round the clock. Two-thirds of those charged have been remanded to custody. Sensing widespread backing for a harsher crackdown on the rioters Prime Minister David Cameron has announced full backing of his government for speedy justice that has hastened hundreds of suspects through the courts.
— PTI
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Fai case referred to grand jury
Washington, August 13 "The matter has been referred to the grand jury, so no further hearings are scheduled pending action by the grand jury," an official of the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, said. A grand jury is traditionally larger than and distinguishable from a 'petit' jury or the trial jury, which is used during a trial. Grand juries carry out their job by examining evidence and issuing indictments, or by investigating alleged crimes and issuing presentments.
— PTI
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Political crisis in Nepal deepened today as a crucial meeting of the main parties failed to agree on a national unity government even as the embattled Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal refused to quit till a consensus is formed on a new coalition.
